More Than A Lifetime
by Anomilee
Summary: House and Cuddy seem to be drawn to each other... like they can't get away from one another. What if this is so and this is only one of the life times that they've met up. Huddy Fic set in the past. Rating probably changing to M soon...?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Okay just let me start by saying I will not be defeated.I do plan to finish Fated Reason. This is something I just had to write. I've been watching a lot of historic films and reading books and I got inspired, and since House is the only show I get to watch consistently, I used the characters off the show. That being said, the characters names might be a little different to fit the time period, but I own none of them since they are based on the characters from the show. (Yes Cuddy is Annalisa, but I'll probably just start using Lisa half way through. House is still House, it just might not be that obvious in the beginning, but he has to be a little more mature in this fic since he is actually the one in power with all the responsibility.

Again this is an historic fic. Before you judge it, I just took the things that I liked from each individual time period and made my own. Don't worry it makes since.

* * *

Annalisa was a young maiden that lived in the countryside with her mother Margery, her sister Emma, her brother Thomas, and her two cousins Alice and Cecily. They were fairly poor, but considered themselves lucky, since they were actually one of the poor that owned land. Her father, John, had been a serf, and had gained his freedom from his nobleman after saving the man's only son's life. Her father had studied medicine when he wasn't out working the fields. When the boy injured himself while out in the woods, her father had found him and packed the wound right then and there with some healing beads that were known to grow on the trees to keep him from bleeding to death. He then returned the boy to his father, and grateful and having faith in her father's ability, the man offered him the job of nursing his son back to health, knowing that the battle wasn't over. The boy soon developed a fever as almost everyone did after obtaining such an injury. Her father was able to bring the boy back to health. The man had also given her father a piece of land to further show his gratitude.

Her father had built a small house, with the help of other men from the village, and had cultivated the rest of the land in order to earn a steady income for him and his growing family. He also practiced medicine on the side when someone in the village really needed it and couldn't afford a doctor. They would give him whatever they could, so that added to their income. Annalisa was the middle child, Thomas being the oldest and Emma being the youngest. Her mother was a seamstress and made beautiful garments that she often sold in town. Cecily and Alice's parents had died when the Black Death had hit their village. It was a scary and trying time and the small, and the slightest sign of illness set everyone on edge. Their mother was Margery's sister. The children were still young, so her mother and father decided to take them in and raise them as their own. Cecily, or Sissy as her family liked to cal her, was a couple of years older than Annalisa, but younger than Thomas. She, Annalisa and Emma had always been close and were like sister. Alice was younger than Annalisa but a year older than Emma, and had always been one to do things her way. She wasn't really close with the other girls due to her own accord, and they often regarded her as spoiled. She had an heir of entitlement about her, but was the laziest of the bunch. They still loved her, but she always thought that she was better than them.

A few years after Cecily and Alice's parents passed, John died at war. Annalisa was young, but she still remembered when the men had come to tell her of her father's passing and how her mother had cried. She was older now, but still missed her father as they had had a close relationship. She had always been more interested in the medicine he practiced than she was in working the fields with everyone. She still helped in the fields, but her father would always take her with him whenever he would go and practice medicine. She would read the books with him for countless hours and he would explain things to her that she did not understand. She continued to study medicine after he passed, feeling that was the only way that she could still be close to him. Thomas had taken the role as the main worker of the land upon their father's passing, and her mother had taken to selling her garments at the market to make up for the loss of income from her father's medical practice. It had been tough for a few years, but somehow the queen had gotten word of her mother's amazing work and invited her to design a dress for her. After being satisfied and beyond at her mother's work, the woman offered her a job as one of her regular seamstresses. They had all been invited to live in the castle, but her mother declined, not willing to leave the land her father had earned to perish. The queen still held a place for them which her mother often used not wanting to travel the long distance from the castle back to the village after working long hours. Thomas stayed behind to take care of the home and the land, while the girls joined Margery whenever she went to the castle.

It was interesting for them to go to the castle, since not many people in their village or at their status level ever got to see the inside of it. It was huge and it was beautiful. It often gave the girls a chance to pretend that they were royalty. Her mother had been working there for a few years and the girls had gotten comfortable enough with the place to explore different parts of the castle, even some parts they weren't supposed to. It had started out when Alice had convinced them to come on a man hunt with her to find the prince that lived there. It was rumored that he was to find his queen before his twenty-third birthday, and she was sure that he would fall head over heals in love with her the moment he saw her. The other girls had tried to convince her that she was delusional, but she was a very ambitious girl, especially when it came to status. It was said that it had been prearranged for him to marry Anastacia, the daughter of Lord Geoffry. There families had a long and enduring relationship and it had been arranged since their birth. They had had nothing better to do, so they had decided to accompany her on her journey. After many adventures through the castle and never once running across the prince, or thankfully, the queen or the king, they had just opted for exploring the different parts of the castle.

"You girls stay close, and don't go making any trouble," Margery warned them as they prepared to go off on their own again. She had not yet found out about their little adventures and thought that they only stayed on the worker's floor. They made sure to keep her uninformed on the fact, because they knew if she found out that they would no longer be allowed to accompany her on her visits to the castle.

"Mother, have we ever been known to cause any trouble?" Annalisa asked with a mischievous smirk on her face that was accompanied by giggles from the other girls.

"No, my dear," her mother replied sweetly. "But just because it isn't known, it doesn't mean that it's not there."

The girls traded knowing looks and giggled as they left the room where the seamstresses worked. The easily found their way up to the floors that they were not supposed to be on and began their search of nothing in particular. It was amazing that after all this time, they wer still finding new sections of the castle with new things to explore.

"Well this is going to be my home one day," Alice piped up after the girls had just finished marveling over one of the marble statues. "You can all come and visit me, if you learn how to conduct yourself in the presence of royalty."

Annalisa and Cecily looked at each other and smiled at the naivety of the younger girl.

"Oh, Alice," Emma started, her voice holding a little sympathy for the girl, "when are you going to realize the prince is not going to marry you? Not only will you not get to meet him, you are nowhere near his level he couldn't marry you if he wanted to."

"You don't know that," Alice told her, sounding a little offended. "You are just jealous, because if the king had to choose between you or me, you know he'd choose me." She stuck her head in the air and began to walk ahead of the other girls as if she owned the place.

"What is wrong with her?" Emma asked.

"She is just living and a fantasy world," Cecily said. "Let her be. Hopefully she'll wake up so…,"

She stopped mid sentence and in mid stride, as did all the other girls when they heard a thunderous and commanding voice coming towards them from the other end of the hallway.

"But your majesty," a weaker voice said to the man as if they were trying to explain something to the man.

The girls looked at each other and their eyes grew wide as they realized they were about to be in the presence of the king.

"They are coming this way," Alice said turning back to the other three girls.

"We have to hide," Cecily told them. She looked to the sides of hallway and luckily they were close enough to two of the large statues that lined the hallway. She grabbed Emma's hand, since she was the closest to her. "Anna, Alice, you get behind that lion man," she said describing the obscured statue as best she could. She pulled Emma behind the other one with her as the voices got closer.

"I don't understand that boy," the more robust of the men, who was obviously the king said. "He has an entire kingdom in his hands and he still acts foolishly. I don't know if he'll ever be fit to be king."

The girls peaked out from behind the statues trying to get a better look at the man who ruled the kingdom without revealing themselves. He wore the most luxurious garments the girls had ever seen, besides the pieces their mother made for the queen. He seemed to be more than well nourished, and held an heir about himself that made the girls even more afraid of being caught. They would have hated to have to come face to face with the man standing less than ten feet away from them.

"Well he has two more years sire," the other man said.

"If he does not mature by then, I don't know if I'd be willing to pass on my crown to him. I've worked hard to build this country back to the way it was before the war."

"But your majesty," the other man started again, "he is your only son, the sole heir to the throne. If you do not pass the kingdom on to him, who will you pass it on to?"

"I still have a few good years left in me Peter," the king started again as he and the man began to walk again. "Just because I promised him the throne after he is wed on his twenty-third birthday, doesn't mean I have to give it to him then if he is not ready."

The girls waited until the voices were comfortable in the distance before coming out of their hiding places.

"That was close," Emma said, still a little frightened by what had happened.

"Yes it was," Annalisa agreed, "now lets get out of here."

The girls were ready to end their adventure for the day, or at least limit it to the workers' floor since the royal family was obviously roaming about the castle today.

They all took off in quickly making quick strides as they started to make their way back to the floor they were supposed to be on.

"He'll get over it," the tall muscular man said.

"I do not understand," his companion said. "Why do you love upsetting your father?"

"Because my father is easily upset," he returned. "He has a whole country to rule over. He should be more concerned with that and less concerned with the way I live my life."

"Well you can't blame him for being a little concerned. You are scheduled to replace him as king in only two short years. He just wants to make sure you are ready."

"James, you sound just like him," the taller man started. "This country better be happy that it has someone like me. Between my father and all the mundane peop…," he was caught off guard when someone crashed into him.

It was a female, he could tell before looking at her by the yelp she let out and the feel of her small frame against his taller, broader one. On instinct he held her upright to keep her from falling, especially after the three other girls he had now noticed behind her had crashed into her from behind. After she regained her balance he let go of her, and looked down into a pair of piercing steal blue eyes. The expression on her face grew to one of terror as she opened her mouth to say something. She took a while to get the words out, but before she could speak, the third man with him who had been quiet until now spoke.

"Are you insane?!" he yelled at her. "You foolish, clumsy girl, you should watch were you are going. The prince could hav…"

"William, it's fine," the prince said as he held his hand up and spoke over the man. No harm had been caused, by her bumping into to him. He had barely moved an inch under ther force of the four of them. But he was still mesmerized by the eyes staring back at him that were now filled with fear. He finally noticed the rest of person that the eyes belonged to and how beautiful she was in addition to the now somewhat gray eyes staring back at him.

"Forgive me my lord," she said as she dropped her head and lowered her eyes assuming the appropriate position when in the presence of royalty along with the rest of the girls. "I should have been paying attention to where I was walking."

"It is alright, no harm done," he said with a smile that she could not see for her head being lowered. He surveyed the girls one by one. He could see the other girls' faces since they were not standing directly in front of her. One of them had light colored hair and looked to be the more mature of the group. She was pretty girl with beautifully accentuated features that made her beautiful. She was about the same height as the girl standing in front of him. The other two girls were shorter, and one had light brown hair, while the other had darker brown hair like the girl standing in front of him. They were both very pretty too and had younger features that told him they were a little younger than the other two girls. They were all beautiful, but the one standing in front of him still captured his attention more than the rest of them. He felt the fire in his loins growing the more he stared at her. James noticed the smirk on his friend's face and couldn't help but to give one of his own, already knowing what his friend was thinking.

"Tell me," he started, "what is your name?"

She tilted her head to look up at him to make sure that he was talking to her and that she wasn't talking out of turn.

"Annalisa," she responded when she saw that he was indeed talking to her.

"Do you live in the castle Annalisa?"

Alice shot her a glare which she did not notice as she was too busy answering the prince's question. Why was the prince asking her all of these questions? Had he not noticed her? Cecily smiled to herself as she noticed the smirk on the prince's face from her peripheral. She noticed the way that he looked at Annalisa as they spoke, and being the oldest of the girls, it was more obvious to her and the prince was clearly smitten with her cousin.

"No, sire," she told him.

"Then may I ask why you are here?"

"My mother works for the queen."

"She does?" he said sounding a little surprised. He had never seen a worker that looked as beautiful as these girls. He would have to start spending more time on the labor floors, he thought to himself.

"Yes sire," she said still not raising her head. "She's a seamstress."

"Well do you come here often?"

"Yes sire."

Normally he would have asked what they were doing on the floor where they weren't allowed, but he was happy that he had had the pleasure of bumping into them.

"Do you stay the ni…" he started, but was interrupted by one of his father's minions coming down the hall.

"Prince Gregory," the man started, "your father would like to have a word with you. Now."

"What does he want?"

"He didn't say sire."

"Tell him I am busy."

"With all due respect sir," the man started again, "he seemed pretty upset. I think you should get there now."

The prince let out an exasperated sigh, but decided to see what his father wanted, knowing that the man was the only one he knew of with a temper that could rival his own. His further exploration of the girl standing before him would have to wait.

"I'll be right there," he told the man before turning his attention back to the girls. "Ladies." He tilted his hat and the curtsied before he walked away with the other two men following as they followed the man who had come to fetch him back down the long corridor.

The girls watched as he left, happy that they had not gotten reprimanded for trespassing. Alice was the first to speak.

"See I told you," she said as her face lit up with excitement. "I told you we would see him. He is so handsome." She looked dreamily at the hallway where he had just disappeared before speaking again. "I am going to go talk to him."

"You are not," Cecily said grabbing her by her arm to stop her. "We aren't even supposed to be here. Now lets get back to the labor floors before we get into more trouble."

All the girls agreed except Alice but she was dragged along with them. They made it back to the worker's part of the castle, that was far less elaborate than the rest of the castle, but was still pretty nice as far as they were concerned.

"Did you girls have fun?" Margery asked them.

"Yes," Emma answered eagerly. "We saw the prince."

The other three girls looked at her and she quickly realized her mistake. Margery's face fell at the thought of the girls getting into trouble with one of the members of the royal family.

"How did…," she started, but was cut off by the quick thinking Cecily.

"He came down to the labor floor to make sure things were running smoothly."

She gave them a suspicious look. She knew that the prince could care less about what was going on on the labor floors, and that they had people just to make sure that things ran smoothly. All of the girls looked at her with looks that she doubted, but since she had no evidence to prove them wrong, and since they had not be harshly escorted back to her, she had no other choice but to believe them.

"Well Alice," she turned to the girl whom she knew had a crush on the prince she had never seen before, "was he everything you dreamed of?"

"Yes Aunt Margery," the girl said as her face lit up again. The other girls giggled at her enthusiasm as they two found the soon to be king fairly attractive, Cecily, a little fonder of his friend that was with him.

Margery gave an admirable laugh to the girls' obvious naivety and innocence, before she began working again.

"He even asked for Annalisa's name," Cecily added with a smile.

The girl's face fell at the mention at this fact and she shot Cecily a mean glare. Her mother only smiled knowing why she had that reaction. Just the thought of having to be considered so inferior to a man made the girl cringe. All of the girls knew many trades that were considered unladylike. When John had been alive, he had opted to teach them these things since they had been so interested when he was teaching them to Thomas. The other girls however seemed more willing to take their place as wives to the three lucky men that would marry them while Annalisa had made it clear that she could not take her place as someone's wife unless he was willing to take his place as her husband. But she could tell from the slight blush that rose in her eldest daughter's face that she was intrigued by her meeting with the prince as were the other girls.

"He was clearly more interested in me," Alice said sticking her nose in the air as she turned to walk away.

"Alice, wait," Emma said leaving out behind her.

"Well he did," Cecily said after seeing that Annalisa was still staring her down. "If you ask me, I'd say he's quite fond of you."

"Well no one asked you, and he does not know me to be fond of me," Annalisa said before stomping out of the room to find Emma and Alice. She had a feeling that she would enjoy their company more right now than she was enjoying Cecily's.

Cecily and Margery shared a knowing smile, as the girl sat on the bench next to the woman to help her with the embroidery on the garment she was making.

"Are you listening to me?" the King yelled at his son who stood before him.

He did not respond and James had to nudge him to bring him back to their world.

"Oh. Yes father," he said as the remanence of his father's questions echoed in his head.

"You are to being king one day. You have to be more responsible. The King of Spain will not let his daughter marry a king that is not mature enough to run his own country."

Gregory let out an inaudible sigh. He knew that he was mature and capable enough to run any country that was placed under his rule. He just did not see the point in not having fun and taking advantage of the fact that the country was to one day soon be under his rule.

"Yes father," he said knowing that agreeing with him would get him out of the room quicker so he could get into something else that his father would probably disapprove of. "Now if you are finished, James and I have some unfinished business we are to attend to."

The king gave out and audible sigh, knowing that his son had not listened to one word of what he had just said. He did not doubt the boy's capability to rule as king, just his discipline to be able to use his capabilities effectively.

"That is all," he said with a nod of his head.

The two younger men did the same before exiting the room.

"If you do not mind, would you like to tell me what is this business that we have to take care of?"

Gregory did not answer but only smirked as his friend with a knowing look. James did not need another word for he instantly thought back to the events prior to the tongue lashing they had just received.

"Ahhh, the girl."

"The girl," he confirmed. "There were three more and I saw the way the one in the green dress was looking at you."

James only smiled, having found the girls attractive himself. "Do you think your father will let you have another concubine after that trickery you just pulled?"

"My father is a man of great needs. He understands that I am his son. He will let me have another concubine."

James only nodded as they made their way to the labor floors. When they got there, they could not find the girls. They went into the room where the seamstresses worked and asked around for them. Margery and the girls were well known, and it did not take long for someone to realize who he was talking about and inform him that they would not be in until the next week.

Not wanting to seem lustful, he opted to wait those few days.

* * *

A/N: Okay, now you can judge it : ) Don't be too harsh...


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Here goes the next chapter. Hope you enjoy.

* * *

"I am sorry Annalisa, but you must stay here and help Cecily work the field while Thomas gathers wood. Winter is coming soon and we have to have enough food, money, and heat to survive it."

The winters there were harsh, and often brought death to those who did not prepare adequately for it.

"Why can't Emma or Alice stay and help?"

"Because, you are much more efficient at harvesting than they are," Margery explained. She would have left Emma and Alice behind to help, but Emma was still a little young and immature and Alice would surely get herself into some sort of trouble without her around to supervise. She knew that it wasn't her daughter being lazy. The girl was a hard worker. She just didn't like working the field. She would rather come to the castle with her and help out in the kitchen or the washroom than to stay behind and work the fields.

"Stop crying about it Lisa," Thomas told her in a teasing mannor. "You'll have plenty of time to explore the castle later."

"Yes," Alice agreed. "I'm the one that has to be there. The prince cannot ask me to marry him, if I am not there."

Cecily, Thomas, and Emma sighed loudly at the girl's exclamation. Emma left out of the front door to prepare for their journey to the castle and Cecily and Thomas prepared to work the field.

"I will bring you something back from the market my dear," Margery told her before pulling her into a hug, and heading out of the door with Alice at her side.

Alice was considerably happy that Annalisa was not making the trip with them. This way when she ran into the prince today, the girl would not be able to steal his attention away from her. She was sure he would have asked them to spend the night at the castle just to be closer to her, if Annalisa had not been the one to bump into him first.

* * *

"I do not see her," James said in a frustrated voice. "Surely you can find another girl just as beautiful if you want a new concubine."

"I want that girl," Greg said in a tone of determination that James readily identified.

"Well it is clear she is not here," he started. "Maybe we can come back and check again tomorrow," he tried, but Greg had already become distracted by a group of young girls giggling on some steps in the courtyard that connected the labor chambers. He realized two of the girls, as they bared some resemblance to the one he was looking for. One of the girls looked more like her than the other, so he decided to approach her.

When Alice saw him walking over to them, she let out an audible gasp that made all of the other girls look up. She had planned on going exploring to find him, but found herself less courages with just her and Emma being there. They all gasped and started whispering among themselves upon seeing the prince walking towards them. Emma stayed quiet, as his eyes seemed to be fixed on her. She was too afraid to turn giggly and blush as the other girls were doing, afraid that he had decided to punish them for trespassing after all.

"You," he said with his eyes still fixed on Emma as he stopped in front of the group of girls who had now become silent.

She quickly rose to her feet and bowed her head. "Yes sire."

"There was another girl with you," he told her.

Alice's face instantly lit up, believing that he was talking about her. Emma only thinking of the girl that was currently with her responded, "Yes. Alice."

Alice quickly rose to her feet and took up residence next to Emma, not being able to suppress the smile on her face.

"No," he said already knowing that she wasn't the girl he was looking for. "There were two other girls."

"Yes sire," Emma quickly answered, "my cousin Cecily and my sister Annalisa."

"Yes, where are they?"

"At home. Mother left them to work the fields, winter is coming soon…,"

"Where is your mother?" he asked cutting the girl off, figuring she was about to share far more than he wanted to know.

"She is in the seamstresses' chamber for the queen."

He took off in that direction with James following close behind him. He had waited far too long and refused to wait another day to get his hands on what he wanted. He was a very demanding and unyielding man, and his power aided him in that area. He wanted what he wanted, and he wanted it now.

Alice and Emma looked at each other and followed quickly behind them with the other girls on their tails. When he got to the room, all of the women brought their attention to him. The chattering stopped and they all stopped working and rose to their feet. He searched the room, but came to no decision on what to do as he did not know who he was looking for.

"She is right there sire," Emma said pointing out her mother as she came to stand on side of him.

Margery was about to open her mouth to say something, but realized that she shouldn't speak out of turn in the presence of the prince. He clearly did not get upset with the girl, so there was no reason for her to do so.

His eyes went to the woman the girl had pointed out and he began to walk towards her, while signaling for the rest of the workers to continue working.

"Your majesty," Margery bowed as he came to a stop in front of her.

"Your daughter," he said, leaving the woman a little confused. She immediately began to apologize.

"I am sorry if Emma has done anything to off…," he cut her off.

"No, she has been nothing but helpful," he reassured her. "I am speaking of your other daughter."

"Annalisa?" the woman asked a little unsure of what her other daughter had to do with this, since she wasn't even at the palace today.

"Yes," he told her. "Why is she not here?" he asked realizing that he should have probably let the girl explain before.

"She could not make the trip with me. There was work that needed to be done on the farm."

"Tomorrow, come back," he told her. "Bring her with you and send for me when you arrive."

"Yes your majesty," she said as the prince and his friend left the quarters.

"Mother," Emma said making her way over to her, "what do you think he wants with Annalisa?"

"I don't know dear," her mother said, not believing what had just happened. She never believed that the prince would be asking for a member of their family. They were not far up enough in status to be beckoned by the royal family twice. She had been stunned when the queen requested her services, but this took the cake.

Alice stood in the door way, seething at the events that had just taken place. Annalisa had not even been interested in the prince. He was supposed to fall in love with her and marry her. She was supposed to be Queen. But Annalisa had managed to steal the prince's attention away from her, and she did not like that at all. At least now that she would have the chance to be closer to the prince, she could make him fall in love with her more easily.

* * *

"Lisa, Lisa!" Emma yelled as she raced ahead of her mother and Alice to tell her sister what she believed to be the great news.

Annalisa just looked at the girl as she ran up to her. She figured that the girl was going on about something that wasn't that big of a deal. She was known for doing that.

"Guess what?" she said, but didn't wait for her sister to reply. "The prince asked for you."

With this the Annalisa's face grew confused, as Cecily stopped working and Thomas who was about to go back out into the woods came over upon hearing the news.

"Why…What does he want with me?"

"I don't know," Emma said still more excited then everyone else was able to get, since they did not know the reason for the prince's summoning of the girl, "but he told mother to bring you to the castle tomorrow."

The girl smiled excitedly, but seemed to be drawing the opposite response from her sister.

"Well you don't seem very excited about it," she told her as the smile fell from her face. Part of her excitement was coming from getting to tell her sister and the excitement she was sure she would have exhibited.

She ignored the girl and went to her mother who was just entering the gate along with a still sulking Alice.

"Mother, what is this Emma's going on about?"

"You are coming with me to the castle tomorrow," was all her mother said before walking past her and going into the house, leaving her, Cecily, and Thomas standing there confused.

Alice gave a still confused Lisa a hard stare before following Margery into the house.

"Oh, this is so exciting," Emma said getting her enthusiasm back. "I have to go and tell Kate." The girl took off for the next house down the road.

Cecily and Thomas gave each other a confused glance. Annalisa stormed into the house in search of more answers from her mother. Thomas shrugged his shoulders and went back to gather one more load of wood before nightfall. Cecily followed Annalisa into the house to catch the end of the discussion that Margery had obviously cut short.

"You are coming with me tomorrow," she told Annalisa, "and that is final."

The girl knew that that really was final, and instead of putting up another fight, went down the hall into the bedroom that she shared with Cecily and closed the door. Alice busied herself helping with dinner while Margery stood near the cast iron stove looking preoccupied by something. She seemed to shake herself of the troubling thought as she gathered a few more pieces of wood to add to the fire in the stove. Cecily moved slowly towards her, figuring that if she approached the situation better than Annalisa had that she would get more information than she had. She already knew a little more about the royal family and their ways than Annalisa did and that knowledge concerned her. She thought that it had to be the same troubling knowledge that was distracting Margery.

"Are you really going to bring her to him?" she asked in a soft voice, shaking Margery from her thoughts and making her look up at her. She stared at the girl for a few seconds, but did not say anything.

"Alice," she said turning to the younger girl, "go and get Emma, and tell her to come home. It's getting late and it is almost dinner time."

"Yes, Aunt Margery," the girl obeyed as she left the kitchen.

"I did not choose this for her," she said after Alice had left. "He requested her and I must obey the prince's wishes."

"But you do not have to deliver her to him as if she is some object," she told her. She already knew the prince's intentions with her cousin. He could not marry her. She was too far below his status for that. Had she been the daughter of a duke or even a nobleman ,maybe, but not the daughter of a farmer that barely made enough to take care of his family when he was alive and now a widow that was having trouble doing the same.

"I am doing what is best for her."

"How is this best for her?" the girl questioned becoming a little upset with the situation.

The woman let out a frustrated sigh. She did not want to think more about the situation than she had to, but she understood the girl's concerns as she was very protective of the younger girls although she and Annalisa weren't that far apart in age.

"You know how Annalisa is," she answered in a calm voice. "I am just trying to secure her well being." She knew that she would not be around forever to take care of them. She had no concerns about Cecily finding a husband to support her as the girl was very giving and nurturing, as was Emma. Alice would not have trouble getting wed if she could only let go of the fantasy of marrying the prince and becoming Queen. Annalisa was giving and nurturing, but also had a different quality about her that seemed to scare off boys who tried to court her. "Thomas will soon have his own family to take care of and I will not always be around to take care of her and she will be well taken care of living in the castle. I would protest the prince's wishes, although I doubt it would help, if I thought in anyway that this would not be the best thing for her."

The girl stared at the woman as she again busied herself with cooking. She understood the woman's reasoning although she didn't agree with it. She did indeed know how Annalisa was and decided that the woman knew what was best for the girl better than she did.

"Are you going to just stand there or are you going to make yourself useful?"

The girl nodded, deciding not to question her elder any further and began cutting up some vegetables with the blade Alice had left laying on the counter.

When dinner was finished Margery called for Annalisa to join them, but she opted to skip dinner that night. She was a little upset with her mother, but mostly frustrated with the situation because she didn't know what to expect. She could not think of anything other than trespassing that she had done wrong, but she knew that the request for her presence at the castle could not be good. She didn't think that he wanted to punish her for her trespassing because he could have done that when he caught them. He also didn't seem that upset about it. Also, she thought, he would have already reprimanded Alice and Emma and requested Cecily's presence too if that's what it was about. She fell asleep with the troubling thought on her mind.

* * *

"But mother, it's still dark out," Annalisa groaned as she felt someone shaking her from her sleep.

"I am not your mother, but it's best you get up before she comes in here herself," she heard the voice of her younger sister say.

She slowly opened her eyes to find a still eager Emma standing over her.

"Well, get up," Emma said.

"Are you mad?" she figured the girl had to be in order to be waking her up before sunrise. She remembered no previous engagements that would require her to be up at this time of the morning.

"You have to get ready to go and meet the prince," Emma reminded her.

"I think I'll go back to sleep," she said turning away from the girl.

She heard the girl give a frustrated sigh before leaving the room. Less than a minute later she heard her mother enter.

"Annalisa, " she said pulling the covers off of her, "you get out of bed this instance."

"Mother, I don't want to go to the cas…," her mother cut her off before she could finishing.

"Well you are going. Now get up. You have to get dress and we still have to make it to the castle before noon," she said before walking out of the room.

The girl put her hands over her face and sighed in frustration.

"Get up!" she heard her mother yell making her jolt upright in the bed. She finally crawled out of bed and made her way into her mother's bedroom. It seemed that Thomas was the only one still asleep as all the other girls had gathered in her mother's room. She noticed Alice shooting her a mean glare from the corner of the room, but ignored her. She knew why the girl was upset with her, but didn't understand it. It wasn't like she asked to be invited to the castle, she didn't even want to go. She would have gladly switched places with her.

"Well com'on," her mother said coming into the room. "We don't have time to frolic around, you have to get bathe. "

About a half hour later, she found herself being forced into a corselet.

"Mother, why do I have to where this?" she asked. She really didn't understand why. It wasn't like she had a large waist or anything. She could get along just find without it, but she was sure she would pass out with it.

"Because," her mother began letting her know her answer was not going to be satisfying, "it is proper attire for a lady."

"Well I did not ask to see the prince, he asked to see me. If anyone should be wearing the proper attire it should be him," she replied snarkily.

"Stop it," her mother told her. "I do not want to hear any talk like that from you when you are in the presence of the prince."

"Okay, now breathe," Cecily told her as she finished securing the corselet.

She tried but barely got a breath out. "I can't," she told her making the rest of the girls laugh.

They managed to get her dressed and they all left for the castle shortly after sunrise. When they got there, Margery told Thomas to keep an eye on Emma and Alice. They had borrowed their neighbors wagon to ride into town, but only Cecily and Margery were staying with her. Margery did not want Alice and Emma around for what she knew was about to happen.

"May I help you?" one of the guards said in a condescending tone after seeing the old, beat up cart they had arrived on.

"Yes," Margery answered in a pleasant tone. "The prince is expecting us. "

The man laughed. "You expect me to believe that the prince would associate with the likes of you."

Cecily and Annalisa both shot the man a threatening stare which did not faze him. Margery's attitude stayed pleasant.

"Well he did invite us here," she told him.

"I do not believe you, now leave before I have you escorted out."

"Are you sure you want to do that?" she asked him. "I am sure the prince would be quite upset if he found that you turned his guests away."

The man was about to answer her back, but instead took time to think about her words. The prince was known for his temper, and from what he had heard, he didn't want to be on the receiving end of said temper.

"Wait right here," he told them. He began to walk off, but turned around after taking a few steps.

"Who should I tell him is here?"

"Annalisa," Margery told him.

They watched as the man walked a short distance and relayed the message to another man who then entered the castle. A while later, the same man returned and told the guard to allow them entrance into the castle. He then escorted them to one of the rooms where the prince was awaiting them.

"Your guests have arrive your majesty," the man said presenting himself and them.

"Thank you," Greg said as he dismissed the man with a wave of his hand.

Annalisa saw that he was staring and her and held his gaze for a while, but she became uncomfortable with the hungry look in his eyes so she turned away. He smiled to himself, and she could still feel his eyes burning holes into her. She was sure if her heart had room to beat in the tight corselet she had on, it would beat right out of her chest.

"Your majesty," she said as she bowed in front of him. "I have brought you my daughter as you requested."

"Indeed you have," he said as he got up from the large chair he was sitting in. He walked pass Margery and over to where Annalisa and Cecily were standing, but he kept his eyes on Annalisa the whole time. She lowered her head purposefully so she would not have to look him in the eyes. He circled her inspecting her from head to toe. Not at all satisfied with the amount of fabric on her body, he opted for talking to her instead of eating her with his eyes.

"Do you know why you are here?"

"No, sire," she replied simply.

"You will be living here at the castle from now on," he told her getting right to the point. "I have already had the servants prepare a place for you, and your room is ready now."

"If I may ask sire," she started, "why must I live here at the castle. I very much enjoyed living with my family."

"From what I understand your mother already has a room in the castle," he told her. "So being away from your family should not be a problem."

"Is there any particular purpose that I will be serving while living here?" she asked finally getting the courage to look up at him.

It's not that she didn't want to stay in the castle, she would have loved to live in the castle especially if her family could join her. She just wasn't sure what the circumstances were surrounding this new living arrangement. It was a move in the right direction on the status totem for her family she thought, so that was another positive.

His smile grew wider, and he simply answered her, "Yes."

The mischievous look on his face made her afraid to ask any more questions. So when he ordered one of the guards to show her to her living quarters, she left quietly and Cecily accompanied her, while her mother stayed behind.

Margery watched as Gregory watched her oldest daughter leave the room. She felt bad, but ultimately felt it was the best thing to do. She knew that the concubines lived good lives, they weren't treated as royalty, but she'd be living a better life there than she would live outside of the castle if she did not marry.

"Is she pure?" she heard a gruff voice ask waking her from her thoughts. She looked up to see him standing directly in front of her.

"Yes," she stuttered slightly, "yes, she is pure."

"Good," he said with a smile before turning to walk off. "Oh, and you can come to visit her anytime you please, but you must be out of her room by dusk."

He walked out of the room. James tilted his hat to Margery and followed.

* * *

A/N: Just a little heads up... you might not like house in the next chapter. Sorry, but it all works out. Don't forget to review so I can know how this is going.


	3. Chapter 3

"A maid will be assigned to you shortly miss," the older man said with a smile before exiting the room.

Annalisa looked to Cecily with the worried look still plastered on her face. She knew she was looking to her for comfort, but she had none to offer. She did the best she could. "Well at least you get your own maid."

"I don't want a maid," she snapped at her. "I can take care of myself." She walked over to the window a looked out. The view surprised her. She had only seen one more beautiful in her life, but she had not been there in years, not since her father had died. He used to take them to a small creek a few miles from their house. It had been beautiful. She did not know if it was still the same since she hadn't been since he had fallen ill.

"Well," Cecily said at another attempt to cheer her up, "at least you get new clothes."

Annalisa turned to see the girl holding up one of the garments from the armoire. It was pretty, better than what she was used to wearing, but she was not interested. She turned back to the window.

"Cheer up Lisa," Cecily said. She walked over to the window next to the girl. "It won't be that bad. I'll be here with you. I'll be staying in Aunt Margery's room down on the laborer's floor. If you need me I won't be that far away."

She brushed a stray curl out of the girl's face and placed a hand on her shoulder. She felt awful for her. She knew she didn't know the full reason she was there, but her apprehension about the whole situation told her that she knew she wouldn't like that reason when she found out. She looked out of the window when the girl became more noticeably tense. Greg and James had just walked into the courtyard in full view. They could not hear what they were saying, but they watched anyway.

"He is quite handsome," Cecily tried again. This time Annalisa looked at her, but did not say anything before turning her attention back to the courtyard.

"Miss," they heard a timid voice say from behind them. They both turned around at the same time to see a somewhat pretty girl dressed in rather plan clothes. She wasn't ugly, she just looked plan. She probably would have been pretty if she put a little effort into something about her appearance. She and Annalisa looked as if they were about the same age.

"My name's Amelia," she announced. "I am your maid in waiting. Is their anything I can get for you?"

"No, thank you," she said. Before she could leave, Margery entered the room.

"Cecily, may I have a word with you," she said not even looking at Annalisa. This made the girl even more suspicious and nervous. It wasn't like her mother to share something with Cecily and keep it from her. Whatever she told Cecily she would tell her and vice versa. She watched intently as Cecily followed her mother out of the room.

Lisa grabbed Amelia's hand before she could leave behind them. The girl turned to face her. "Yes Miss," she replied.

"Amelia?" she asked making sure she had the girl's name right. The girl nodded with a smile. "Do you know why I am here?"

"Well Miss," she started shyly, "this is the concubines' quarters." She watched as Annalisa's eyebrows furrowed and a sickened look came over her face.

"Are you alright miss?" the girl asked with a look of concern.

She was silent for a while. "Yes," she replied half heartedly.

"Is there anything I can get for you? Some water maybe?" she asked after seeing the girl turn a little green in the face.

"No, I am fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," she said a little bit more harshly then she had meant to. It was clear that the girl was only showing concern, but she needed time to herself, time to gather her thoughts and process what she had just heard, if she had heard it correctly. She felt her face turn a little hot. She barely heard the girl telling her to send for her if she needed anything. She sat on the bed as she felt her knees get a little weak.

She could not believe what she had just heard. She had spent her whole life maintaining her integrity for her sake and for her family's honor. And now without even a second thought, her mother had given her away to the prince to be used for his own pleasures as he saw fit. She had been saving herself for her husband whenever he may have come along, but now all that had been stripped away from her without her even knowing. She wasn't to get married now, just used until he grew tired and saw it fit to dispose of her. Then she would never be able to marry after that because no one would want her.

She felt a tear rolling down her cheek, but did not have the energy to wipe it away. "Aunt Margery said she'll be back tomorrow to visit," she told her. "I can stay with you until dusk, but then I have to go down to the laborer's chambers. So what do you want to do?"

Her mother had left. She had not had the courage to face her after what she had done. She had known all along what he had wanted, but hadn't said anything. From the way it sounded, she had not even protested him. Then she thought about the way Cecily had been acting. She had to have known also. She felt anger rising in her.

"You knew," she said in an accusatory tone. Cecily's mouth fell open, but she did not say anything. She couldn't. "You knew and you didn't tell me. You came with her to deliver me to him. How could you?"

"I'm sorry," she admitted. "I didn't know what to do. She said this would be best for you, I didn't hav…,"

"Get out," she told her.

"Lisa, let me explain," she tired again as the girl walked towards her. She began backing up towards the door.

"Get out," she yelled. The girl knew it was no use in trying to talk to her when she was like this. So silently, she turned and left.

Annalisa closed the door behind her and fell on the bed and wept until she fell asleep. There was still a little light out when she was awakened from her sleep by Amelia.

"Sorry to wake you miss, but dinner is being served in the hall. You are supposed to join the other girls now."

Lisa nodded and rose from the bed. She would not have gone had she not been so famished. She followed the girl out of the room and down the hall to the dinning hall with about twelve other girls around her age. Amelia bowed out at the entrance of the hall and backed out of the room.

The girls were all chatting and giggling and did not seem to notice Lisa until one of them looked up.

"Hello," the red head said. "Are you new?"

'Great,' she thought to herself. It was the first day and she was already getting objectified by someone who's object she wasn't meant to be. She wondered when she would get 'old'.

She nodded anyway.

"I'm Geiselle," the girl said with a smile as she patted the seat next to her. She noticed some of the other girls giving her strange looks; one girl in particular looked like she wanted to kill her, but ignored them and took up a seat next to the girl. A plate had already been left for her

"As I was saying," the girl continued, "he was so gentle last night…."

Annalisa was about to dig into her food when she realized that the girl was going on about a recent night she had spent with the prince. She looked at the girl in disbelief. The way the other girls' eyes were glazed over with admiration told her that this was common place, to share about their bedroom escapades with him. They all seemed happy to be there, and she did not understand. How could they so willingly give themselves to him knowing that he would never marry them, and that they were only one of many. Her mother and her father had been together since before she was born and remained faithful to each other until his death. Even then, her mother still didn't take entrance in another man, and she knew that if the roles were reversed he would have done the same. That was what she wanted, love, monogamy, and commitment. But that dream had been shattered now. She slowly began to consume the food in front of them, trying to ignore the girls. She only started paying active attention when another girl, the girl that looked as if she wanted to kill her, began talking.

"Well, he will be with me tonight," she said boastfully. "He may have been gentle with you, but he lies with me after."

None of the girls had a response, and that told Lisa who pulled the highest rank in the room.

"That's Mary," Gieselle leaned over and whispered to her. "She's his favorite."

Lisa looked back at the girl, this time focusing on her looks rather than her attitude. She was a fairly decent looking girl, but Lisa wondered why she was his favorite. A lot of the girls in the room, Lisa thought, was prettier than she was. She even thought Amelia would be prettier than her given the clothes and make up that Mary wore.

"Do I have something of yours?" Mary asked in a rude tone as Annalisa stared at her. She realized she was staring and quickly looked away and back to her food.

"No," she answered quietly.

"You may be new," Mary said not satisfied with the answer and already having established a personal vendetta against the new girl, who she deemed a little too pretty for her liking "but I am still his favorite. You will not take my spot. You are just a second rate concubine like the rest of them. "

"No matter how much pride you have about it, you are still just a concubine," Lisa said in what came off as a condescending tone, but the truth was she was just expressing her hatred of the situation she had been put in.

The room grew silent and Mary and a few of the other girls scowled at her.

"Well then," Mary said as she stood to leave, "I guess we should leave. The little virgin girl thinks she is too good for us. We shall see if she still feels the same way after the prince has had his way with her."

Mary left the room and most of the other girls followed.

"You shouldn't have said that," Gieselle said.

"But it is true," Lisa said. "We are all just objects of lust to him. "

"Well I know that," Gieselle said, "but we take our job very seriously. We have nothing to be ashamed of. We are well taken care off and we are serving the prince who is to be our future king."

Gieselle saw a tear role down the girl's cheek, and suddenly felt sorry for her. She remembered her first days at the castle and how she had felt.

"Look, you'll get used to it," she said. "It's not that bad. He isn't that bad. Just don't upset him and he'll be nice to you."

Annalisa didn't say anything, she just got up and started to walk out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Gieselle asked.

"To bed," she replied solemnly.

Gieselle sighed as she watched the girl walk out of the dinning hall. She knew that she wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight. She had heard the prince talking to his good friend James about the girl, and knew that he was pretty happy about her arrival at the castle. And no matter how much Mary thought he was going to be spending the night with her, Gieselle knew better.

Lisa barely made her way back through the winding corridors of the palace, and after taking a few wrong turns, made her way back to her room. When she opened the door she found Amelia waiting for her with a night gown laid out on the bed and a bathing robe in her hands.

"I will show you to the bathtub," she said. She knew she had no other choice but to follow, so she did.

She found herself able to relax a little as the girl began pouring buckets of hot water into the tub with her. She closed her eyes and almost forgot about the predicament she had found herself in. She had almost fallen asleep, when Amelia woke her.

"Miss," she opened her eyes and looked up at the girl. "You must be finishing up now. The prince will be making his rounds soon. "

She sighed having been jolted back to reality. After finishing up in the bathtub, she changed into the long white nightgown.

"I will be in the maids chamber, if you need anything," Amelia informed her after accompanying her back to her room. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Lisa said quietly.

She did not know what to do with herself. Usually she would have lied awake talking to Cecily until one of them fell asleep, but she was alone now. She looked around the room, looking for something to busy herself with until she fell asleep. She spotted a small bookshelf in the corner of the room and walked over and picked up one of the books. She laid down on the bed and began reading it. She got caught up in the book and again had almost lost consciousness of her surroundings until she heard a noise at the door. She looked over and saw the door slowly opening. She held the book to her chest and sat up on the bed. She could hear her heart beating in her ears and thought that she was surely going to faint. It did not ease her anxiety when she saw a well dressed prince enter the room.

He was wearing fewer clothes than she usually saw him in and she could tell that he was dressed for bed. He was wearing a heavy clothed robe though and she could not see exactly how much he had on under it, nor did she want to. She hoped that he was just stopping in to check on her on his way to Mary's room. She stared at his chest as he walked closer, to frighten to meet his eyes with hers. He stopped when he was standing right in front of her as she sat on the bed. She shyly raised her eyes to look him in the face. He smiled at her and sat down on the side of the bed.

"We didn't really get a chance to talk the other day," he told her as he extended his hand to her.

"Annalisa," she said hesitantly placing her hand in his. He smiled at her and leaned forward to place a small kiss on her hand. She tried to withdraw her hand, but he held on to it.

"It's nice to meet you," he told her, then smiled, "officially."

She only looked at him and he could tell she was scared, so he decided not to make his move just yet. Instead he held onto her hand and picked up the book that she had laid down on the bed.

"I see you like to read," he told her.

She only nodded and looked away. He slowly let go of her hand and began to remove the robe he wore around him. He sat back down on the bed next to her and put his hand on her chin, turning her face back to him. He tilted her head so she would look him in the eyes. He was fascinated by her eyes, they were like none he had ever seen before. Sure he had seen girls with beautiful eyes before, but hers held a depth that theirs did not. He looked down at her lips and could not resist kissing her any longer. He slowly brought his face closer to hers and pressed his lips to hers. She tried to move away but he only tightened his grip on her face. He tried to snake his tongue into her mouth, but she kept her lips firmly pressed together. Not gaining any access , he moved his mouth to her jaw line and began placing small kisses trailing down to her neck. She tried to move away, but he snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her flesh up against his chest, the thin night gown not providing much of a barrier. She tried to push him off, but he was too much bigger than her. Her hands pressed against his chest trying to create some space between him and her, but when she saw that all of her attempts were futile, she let out a small cry of fear and hopelessness.

"What are you doing?" she asked as she felt the tears well up in her eyes.

He did not answer and she felt his hand raising up her night gown and his hands caressing the bare skin of her thighs as he continued to kiss and suck on her flesh.

"Don't," she cried out as she brought one of her hands down from his chest to his wrist to try to keep it from going further up her gown.

Her desperate cry made him pry his face away from her neck and look down at her. He saw the tears and fear in her eyes and became confused.

"You do know the reason you were brought here right?" he asked her.

She only turned away from him as a few more silent tears fell from her face. "It was not my choice."

He sighed and sat up giving her a little room to breathe. This made him a little uncomfortable, he knew it shouldn't have. He should have just taken her right there, but he had never had to take any of his concubines before. They all willingly offered themselves to him. He wanted her, but he knew it was a new situation for her. He would wait, but he would not wait long. He decided to go pay Mary a visit instead that night. He got up silently, retrieved his robe from the chair and left the room. She let out a breath she did not know she was holding as she heard the door close. She fell on the bed and cried. She wasn't sure if they were tears of joy after having been spared for one more night or tears of fear, knowing that she would not last much longer. She ended up falling asleep sooner rather than later, a little tired from the struggle she had put up against him.

* * *

"Well?"

"Well what?" Annalisa answered sharply.

"Oh com'on," Cecily told her, "you can't stay mad at me forever."

She did not answer. "Did the prince visit you last night?"

"Yes," she replied dryly.

"Well what happened?" she asked after seeing the girl was not going to elaborate.

"I denied him," she said curtly.

"You denied him?" Cecily asked in disbelief. She thought it was impossible to deny the prince, since she knew he would take what he wanted, let along deny him and still be allowed to stay in the castle. "And you are still here? He did not throw you out?"

"No," she said, "but I wish he would have."

"Well you do know that you cannot continue to deny him," Cecily asked. "He will eventually take you, if you do not willingly give him what he wants."

"I would rather him take me than degrade myself by offering myself to him."

"Well, what do you want to do today?" she asked. "I am tired of being inside and it is a lovely day out."

"I have to get changed before I do anything," she said after realizing she still had her night gown on.

"Well I'll be out in the court yard, come and get me when you are ready." Cecily opened the door to leave, but stopped in her tracks when she was met by a tall figure. Annalisa could not see who it was, but knew someone was there as the girl stopped as if startled by what she saw.

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the girl curtsy, and give a polite, "Your Majesty."

Before she had a chance to react he stepped in allowing Cecily to step out before closing the door. She just looked at him not sure of what to say or do, and waited for him to make the first move.

"Just to give you notice, so you'd be better prepared this time," he told her. "I plan to pay you another visit tonight, and I do not expect to be disappointed this time."

He turned to leave, but she spoke up, figuring it was better to say something now than wait until that night. "I have not changed my mind."

He stopped then turned to look at her. She looked down to the ground avoiding eye contact with him. He was intrigued by her defiance. He would have been more intrigued if he did not want her so badly. He took a few steps towards her.

"May I ask why you are refusing me?" he asked with a small smile on his face.

"I told you, it was not my choice to come here."

"Very well," he said after staring at her for a while. "We shall do this the hard way then."

He was about to walk out again when she spoke up.

"That is funny," she started hesitantly. "I have heard many things about you, but no one told me how much of a coward you were."

This time his head whipped around at the girl's boldness. At first he was caught off guard and did not have words to respond.

"Do you know who you are talking to?"

"No, I do not," she told him, making him furrow his brows. "The prince I have heard of is a man, not a coward who has to force himself upon women who do not wish to receive him."

"I have not forced myself upon anyone…," he started and she interrupted.

"But you will," she told him finally raising her eyes to meet his. He was not dumb, he knew what the girl was doing. And though he wanted her badly, he still was not fully comfortable with the idea of taking her. But he wanted her, and he had never been denied anything in his life. He studied her a little while longer, before he spoke. He would give her a little more time to come around, but when he could not wait any longer, he would take her.

"Fine," he said. "I'll give you a few days to get used to the idea, but until then you are not to leave this room or have any visitors." Her mouth fell open and she looked as if she were going to protest at first, but decided against it. "I will be back in a few days to see if you have changed your mind."

He was about to leave, but stopped again and turned around. He walked towards her with a sense of purpose now. He grabbed her arms and pushed her towards the bed almost carrying her. He pushed her down on the bed and she instantly began trying to shield herself from him. He gathered both of her wrists and pinned them to her chest, keeping her from moving.

"What are you doing?" she asked fear evident in her voice when he pressed his body down on top of hers to keep her from moving.

"Making sure, you are worth the wait," he told her. She began to struggle more when she felt his hand again making its way up her gown. He tightened his grip on her and shot her an authoritative look, making her stop her movement. He had such a tight hold on her that it would hurt to fight against him anyway. She looked into his eyes as she felt his hand continue to go up her thigh.

"Open your legs," he told her.

"No," she said defiantly, but still evidently fearful.

He was no longer in the mood for playing games and he pried her legs apart and roughly pushed her panties aside. She let out a small cry when she felt his fingers brush up against her soft curls. He pushed a finger up against her, but was met with resistance. Again he tried to push a finger inside of her and a small cry escaped her as he succeeded. He did not push deep inside of her, and quickly withdrew his finger after confirming that she was indeed pure.

Tears trickled from her face as he let go of her wrist and stood up, heading towards the door.

"Your maid will be in shortly with breakfast," he told her without looking back at her. "Remember, you are not to leave this room until I say so."

She remained on the bed and turned to the wall, drawing her knees to her chest as she began to cry uncontrollably. She could not believe what had just happened. She hated him, and definitely was not going to willingly give herself to him.

"Miss," she heard a familiar voice say. "I brought your breakfast as the prince requested."

Amelia looked at the girl with pitty and sat the tray down on a small table next to the window. She did not know what had happened, but she could tell she was crying and after the prince had just told her that she was to deliver her meals to the room and no one other than her was to see her until he said otherwise, she knew that the events that had just taken place were not pleasant.

"Do you want me to stay?" she offered knowing that she would be the only human contact she would be having for a while.

"She was only met with a weak but demanding, "Get out."

She nodded although the girl had her back turned to her and quietly left the room.

* * *

A/N: Sorry about the abrasiveness of this chapter, but it is the umpteenth century... still not sure about the time period.


	4. Chapter 4

"She was supposed to meet me in the courtyard, but she didn't," Cecily told Margery as they walked towards Annalisa's room.

The woman had grown a little concerned when the girl had told her that she had not seen her daughter since earlier that morning. They made their way to her door and tried to open it, but it was locked, so they knocked.

"Annalisa, are you in there?" Margery called.

She heard her mother's calls from the other side of the door but had no intentions on getting up to go to the door or to answer her. After all, she was the reason that she was in this predicament. She could not open the door if she wanted to because it was locked from the outside.

"Lisa, open up," she heard Cecily call as they continued to knock.

She did not want to talk to her either.

She heard them call out to her and knock on the door for a little longer before they stopped abruptly. She didn't know why they had stopped nor did she care. She closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep and forget about what had become her life.

"She isn't allowed any visitors," they heard a voice say from behind them.

"Why not?" Margery asked the girl that seemed around the same age as her four girls.

"The prince is upset with her, and he locked her in her room," she simply replied.

"Amelia," Cecily stepped forward, "do you have to key?"

"Yes," she said, "but I am the only one allowed in and I am not allowed to open it for anyone besides the prince himself. I am sorry."

"You have to let me in," Margery said walking up to her. "She is my daughter. I have to see if she is okay."

"I am sorry," the girl simply said.

She was about to walk away when the older woman called out to her again. She turned to face her.

"Can you just go in and make sure she is okay for me? Please?"

The girl looked into the woman's eyes and felt pity for her. She nodded and walked over to the door. She opened the door with the key that hung loosely from her wrist and stepped in, being sure to close and lock the door behind her. The prince was firm with his orders and she did not want to get in trouble for disobeying him.

"Miss?" Lisa heard from behind her and tiredly opened her eyes. She had almost drifted off to sleep when she heard Amelia's voice. "Your mother and the girl you were with yesterday are outside of your door. They wanted to know if you were okay. What should I tell them?"

"I don't care," she said.

Amelia stood staring at her for a moment. "I know you are sad right now Miss," she started, "but it will get better. The other girls like it here. You just have to learn to obey him."

She stood in her spot for a while and turned to leave after not getting a response. She stepped out into the hall and locked the door back.

"She is fine," she told them, "just a little sad, but she'll be fine. Now if you would excuse me. I have to go retrieve her lunch."

With that the girl proceeded down the hall.

Margery knew it was all her fault, but she still thought it was the best thing for the girl. She figured she would get over the initial shock of the situation soon and become lively again. She would maybe even forgive her.

"Are you okay?" she asked, touching Cecily's face.

The girl smiled sweetly, "I'm am fine."

"I guess I better get back home then."

She and Cecily made their way through the castle, headed towards the exit. She was going to leave quietly until she saw the prince coming from the yards with some of his men. She decided to approach him.

"Excuse me your majesty," she said hesitantly.

He turned and gave a small smile when he recognized her.

"Yes, may I help you?"

"May I talk with you about my daughter? I brought her to you yesterday."

"Yes, I remember," he said. He raised his hand and all of the men walked away, except for one.

"Well, you told me I could visit her anytime I choose, but when I went to see her, I was told she was not allowed any visitors. May I ask why?"

He forced a smile, masking the anger and frustration he was starting to feel about the whole situation.

"Your daughter was not cooperating," he started. "I thought she needed some time alone to think about things so I cut off her visitation. You will be able to see her soon, once she starts to cooperate. Now if you will excuse me, I have some business that needs to be taken care off."

With that he walked away not wanting to further the conversation with the woman. Her daughter was a rude girl and needed to be taught some manners. She deserved worst punishment than what he had given to her. She should have been happy that being locked in her room was all that happened to her.

"What exactly happened last night when you visited the girl?" James asked.

He glanced at his friend and turned back to face the direction in which he was walking. He was a little embarrassed to tell him what had happened, but knew that the man would not leave him alone until he got an answer.

"She denied me," he said almost inaudibly.

An amused smirk appeared on James's face.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Oh, nothing," James replied. He couldn't believe that one of the girls that his friend had lusted behind the most had been the one to deny him. He could tell he really wanted the girl since he had actually gone to find her mother. He wouldn't say that he liked her as he never allowed himself to have any feelings for any of the girls, though they liked to pretend. He had not known this girl long enough yet anyway. But he found it amusing that a woman had the guts to deny him of something he wanted when most men did not, simply because he was the prince.

* * *

He made his way down the corridor with the maid at his side. They stopped in front of a door that was becoming very familiar and she unlocked the door for him. She waited outside as she had been instructed to do so. It had only been one day, but he wanted to see if the girl had changed her mind sooner than expected. He saw her lying on the bed looking like she hadn't move since he had left her there the day before. Her eyes met his with a hard, icy glare. This time she did not look away.

"Have you changed your mind?"

She did not answer, only continued staring at him. He walked closer to her bed and she backed up to the other side of the bed, not wanting to be any closer to him than she had to be.

"I do not understand you," he told her. "Most girls would kill to be in your shoes. You are living in the castle and serving the prince. You do not want for anything, you are fed and clothed, you even have your own maid. You have a better life than you had before you came here so what is the problem? Why do you deny me?"

She still didn't answer him. He went over and sat on the side of the bed that was not occupied by her. He moved to move one of the stray curls out of her face, but she only moved away from him. He looked at her studying her face. She really was a beautiful girl. He had not had time to admire her like this since he had first seen her. He wondered why she was not married yet. Most of the young maidens of the villages that looked half as pretty as her had already been taken.

"I will give you three more days to make a decision," he said standing from the bed. She watched as he walked thoughtfully towards the door. He left and closed the door. She heard the tumblers turn as it was again locked from the outside.

She regretted not responding to him. She hated being locked away like this with hardly any human contact. She dreaded the three days that were to come, but she could not willing give herself to a man that was not her husband. She slowly got up from the bed and made her way over to the bookshelf. She picked the book what she had started reading two nights before and continued where she had left off.

The following three days passed painfully slow and she felt as if she were going to go insane. If it had not been for Amelia, she was sure that she would have. She felt a little out of it and all she wanted to do was get out. She had always loved the outdoors and being confined to one room was like torture. She sat up straight on the bed upon hearing the tumblers turning. She knew that it had to have been him. Three nights had come and gone and Amelia had just left. She would not be returning so soon.

She looked up at him with hopeful eyes having been broken a little, but not enough to give him what he wanted. This time another man was with him. Not the usual man that she saw with him, but the other man she had seen with him the first day they had met. She just stared at him.

"What is wrong with you?" the other man's voice thundered throughout the room as he walked over to her. "You kneel in the presence of royalty."

He roughly grabbed her shoulder and pushed her to the floor. She landed on her knees with a small cry, but did not have the mental energy to fight back. It was clear that this man was much ruder than the prince himself and she honestly feared him more than she did the prince. That was another reason for her silence.

Gregory furrowed his brows as he looked at William. He had always known him to be a harsh man, but sometimes he felt he took it too far. He often let his power over others go to his head. He did not say anything though, after all she was just a servant, that wasn't doing her job. She looked up at him with red rimmed eyes and he could tell that she had been crying. He felt a tug at his heart. He had never treated any of his concubines like this mostly because they obey him, but he ignored it.

"Have you changed your mind?"

She did not answer and this sat William off again.

"Do you not hear him talking to you?"

She flinched at the loudness and tone of his voice and Gregory held up his hand. "William, please, wait for me outside."

The man glared at him. That was another thing about William, he loved to abuse his powers over others but hated to take orders from others. They had gotten into it many of times and he would have thrown the man out and stripped him of his title if it had not been for his father. They were first cousins and Gregory did not hold the rink to exile the man just yet. He would have more power when he became king, but knew it would still be hard since the man would have been next in line for the job if anything had to happen to him. They were both the only children of their parents, and he was second in line for the throne if anything had to happen to Gregory before he and his queen to be produced an heir to the throne. This was another reason that Gregory did not trust the man, but he had to put up with him.

The man looked back to the girl as if he was about to hit her.

"William," Gregory said sternly, reading his thoughts. He reluctantly turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.

He looked back down at the girl whose face was covered by her curls after having been so harshly thrown to the floor. She looked a little more humbled, but he could tell from her lack of a response that she was not completely broken.

"You are a stubborn girl," he said surprising himself. He was very familiar with the word, it having been used many times to describe him, but he never thought that he would use it to describe someone else.

She didn't respond.

"Maybe you need a little more time to think," he told her. "When should I…," he was disrupted by a knock on the door. He turned to look towards the door as it slowly opened and she kept her head lowered.

"We are about to leave for the archery fields," she heard someone say. The sound of this made her raise her head. She loved archery and was fairly good at it, so she thought. Her father had taught her when he would take Thomas out for lessons.

"I'll be out shortly."

The man closed the door leaving them alone once again. She looked back to him once he turned back to her. He studied her, but did not say anything before he turned to leave.

"May I come with you?" he heard her say in a weak voice. He turned back to look at her.

It was not unusual for him to take his concubines out with him, but he had never taken any of them to archery, nor had any of them ever showed any interest in the matter. Something else about this girl that surprised him. It may have been that she just wanted to get out.

"You want to come out to the archery fields?" he questioned, making sure she understood what she was requesting.

She lowered her eyes and nodded slightly. He studied her a little while longer before turning to leave in silence. Her shoulders sunk even further at the realization that she would again be spending another day locked in what had become her prison. Before she could get off of the floor herself, Amelia appeared in front of her with a huge smile on her face.

"He is taking you out with him Miss," she said before rushing to the armoire to retrieve a dress for her.

Annalisa's face brightened up a little, but not much due to the fact that her emotional energy was a bit drained after having cried every day for the past five days.

"Is this okay Miss?" Amelia said holding up a beautiful blue and cream dress in front of her. It wasn't a plan dress but it was one of the less complicated in the armoire, it was one of the more appropriate for the occasion if there were such a thing. Amelia helped her pin her hair up with some of the accessories that had been supplied in dressing table in her room. Amelia convinced her to let some of her curls hang, though she had objected at first.

After she had gotten dressed, Amelia showed her to the hall where the prince said he would be waiting for her. When she walked into the hall the four men stopped their conversation and all stared at her. Her eyes immediately went to a pair of piercing blue eyes that seemed to have been focused on her a lot lately. She shied away and lowered her eyes after seeing the intense look that he was giving her. Amelia noticed the prince's awestruck stair and smiled at Annalisa before exiting the room.

"Are you sure she is the daughter of a laborer?" Alexander whispered to Gregory.

He only smiled before rising to walk over to her. He held his hand out to her making her raise her head to meet his eyes. She shyly placed her hand in his a little more open towards him for taking her out with him. He escorted her out of the room and the other men followed.

She was a little happy upon seeing that he had gotten a closed carriage to take her. She had learned to do many things in a dress, but mount and ride a horse was not one of them. They arrived to the fields rather quickly, and she was met by the Gregory as the driver opened the door for her. He offered her his hand and she took it then stepped out of the carriage. She was quite surprised when she felt his hand on the small of her back after letting go of her hand. He seemed to be more of a gentleman now than he had ever seemed before, but she still did not forget what had happened in the room.

The field was much bigger than the one her father had taken them to and seemed to be designed for the sole purpose of archery. They were also the only people out there, making her think that it was his own personal field.

"You can stand here and watch if you'd like," he told her before taking his hand from her back and walking over to the bag of equipment they had brought with them.

She watched as they each picked up their on personal bow and began aiming at the targets that seemed to be about 200 yards away. They picked up a conversation with which she quickly grew tired of listening to, not having any interest in the topics and not knowing any of the people they were talking about personally.

She walked over to the bag of equipment that they were not using and picked up a bow and an arrow. Without saying a word she walked up next to Alex who was on the end and shot an arrow, missing the target completely. They all just looked at her.

"Sorry," she said. "I wanted to shoot."

"You would have to learn how to shoot first," William said condescendingly, making the other men laugh.

"I know how to shoot," she told him a little offended at his tone. She did. It was just that the bow was a little large and more complicated than what she was used to shooting with. She scanned her surroundings and her eyes fell on a smaller more worn bow that had been abandoned in one of the bags. By now they had gone back to shooting, dismissing her, and did not pay any attention to her. She walked over and picked up the bow and another arrow. Again she walked up next to Alex and aimed her bow at the target in front of her. She was about to release it when her emotions got the better of her and she aimed it at the target on the other side of Alex's. All four men stopped again more surprised this time by the arrow that had landed dead on the bull's eye of William's target. A little closer to the center than the one he had just shot.

They all looked at her, including the driver who had been standing quietly in the back. She only looked down fearing she would get in trouble for showing him up the way she had. Instead, she heard the very amused voice of the prince.

"A good artist knows how to work with the best of canvases," he told her referring to the used and tattered bow in her hand.

"It takes a better artist to make a masterpiece out of one that is not so good," she replied.

Alex and James shrugged it off and continued shooting, while Gregory and William continued looking at her. William obviously more upset than Gregory. She looked away, not sure what either of them were thinking.

She walked over and grabbed another arrow before walking back up to the line. She aimed and was about to shoot, when she felt two larger hands on her own, his warmth enveloping her as his arms were now wrapped around her as he stood close behind her. She would have panicked and moved away had his touch not been so gentle and calming, the complete opposite of what she was used to feeling from him. He removed the bow from her hands and looked down at her.

"But with the best of artists, the world is his canvas," he told her.

With that he aimed the worn bow that he had taken from her and hit the bull's eye on the target in front of them. He lowered the bow, and admired his work, before turning back to her and handing her the bow. He grabbed an arrow from the bag on his back and handed it to her before resuming his place between James and William. She looked at him, a little surprised with the patience he was showing her after the way he had treated her before. He looked over and saw her looking at him and she quickly turned away, focusing again on the bow and arrow in her hand. He smiled at her before doing the same.

On the way back to the palace, he joined her in the carriage and let Alex take his horse back for him. She was sure that he was going to try and make another move on her, but he only seemed to want to talk to her. He had asked her many questions, which she happily obliged him with the answers to as long as he didn't try to make any advances on her. On occasion, he had answered some of her questions too when her curiosity had gotten the better of her.

They arrived back at the palace just in time to get washed up for dinner. Surprisingly there were no orders given for her to be locked away again, and she joined the rest of the girls for dinner in the hall. Truth be told, these were one of the times that she would have rather stayed in her room. All of the girls were talking and giggling, though not with her since they really didn't seem to like her now. Mary was just staring at her with a condescending smirk on her face that was almost scary, but she ignored her and ate her dinner in silence. That was until the girl spoke up.

"I hope you don't think you are going to take my spot," Mary said in a nasty tone. Lisa looked up hesitantly with wide eyes, not sure the girl was talking to her. The girl rose from her seat and began to slowly make her way around the table to where Lisa sat.

"I saw you coming back with him today," she continued.

"Leave her alone Mary," Gieselle spoke up.

"You shut up and stay out of this," Mary snapped. Gieselle did as she was told, not willing to take on Mary in that state. She could tell the girl was angry, which probably had to do with what was the buzz with the other girls that evening. Mary and a few of the other girls had seen Annalisa and the prince coming back from their little outing. And it had not escaped any of them how she had successfully captured his undivided attention.

"I don't want to take anyone's place," Lisa tried to reassure her. "I don't even want to be here."

"Ha," the girl said, obviously not believing her. "I saw the way you were looking at him."

Lisa furrowed her brow at the accusation. She barely even made eye contact with him. Truth be told, he still scared her a little. She never knew when he was going to turn and get violent with her again.

"I don't know what you are talking ab…,"

"Of course you do," Mary said getting in her face. "You want him, but he is mine. Until he marries, then he will still be mine after his queen, so if you think you are going to take my spot you are going to be sadly disappointed."

She picked up the glass of wine that sat next to Lisa's plate and dumped it on her dress. She backed up from the table and stood up, shocked by what had just happened.

"Hmph," Mary said as she turned her nose in the air and strutted out of the dinning hall.

* * *

A/N: Hope you liked it. Also I believe we are going to see the first real match up of the dynamic which is House and Cuddy in the next chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

"Word around the palace is that the prince is really smitten with you," Amelia said as she helped her out of her bathrobe and into her night gown.

Annalisa just looked at the girl. How could that have been the word around the palace. Only a few people had seen her with him. It had to have been the talk amongst the girls and their maids more than anything.

"You know he's really not that bad if you give him a chance," Amelia said after her silence.

"He is not to be my husband," she answered. "I cannot give myself to him."

"I understand," Amelia said after letting out a sigh. She just wanted the girl to be happy. She had taken a liking to her. She reminded her of herself, coming from a small village with a very tight knit family with high values and morals. But the sooner she accepted her faith, the happier she would be.

"Will that be all Miss?" Amelia asked, and Lisa nodded.

The girl smiled politely and left the room. Annalisa crawled into bed, a little tired after finally having a day out. She just hoped that the prince didn't take that as an invitation to pay her a visit. Surprisingly, it grew later and he still had not come. She let out a sigh of relief and drifted off into a somewhat peaceful sleep, the best sleep she had had since her arrival to the castle.

The next morning, Annalisa got dressed and made her way to the dinning room for breakfast. She had not eaten a lot the last few days, but suddenly her appetite had come back full force. It almost went away again when she walked into the dinning room. The harsh glares reminding her that she was not liked among many of the girls there. She was sure most of the girls had nothing personal against her, but just decided to hate her because Mary did. She quietly took her place at the opposite end of the table as all the girls were crowded around Mary as she told of her visit with the prince the night before.

Before Annalisa could take a second bite of her food, Amelia appeared at the doorway. She cleared her throat loudly causing all of the girls to stop their conversations and look up at her, but she said nothing initially.

"Well spit it out already girl," Mary commanded.

"Miss," she said shyly as she turned her attention to Annalisa, "the prince has requested you join him for breakfast."

All of the girls turned to Annalisa, but she was just a surprised as them. Her mouth hung open and she did not move until Gieselle nudge her.

"Well go on," she said after the girl still didn't move.

As she rose from her chair all the rest of the girls started whispering to each other, their eyes still glued on her. When she got to the opposite end of the table she slowed her stride a little, almost stopping completely at the look Mary was giving her. She would have been happy to finally have something on the girl that she hated so much, but the truth is, she wished that he had requested Mary instead of her. She didn't know how long she could put off his advances without him getting what he wanted anyway. She looked away and followed Amelia out of the dinning room.

Amelia surprisingly stayed quiet most of the way down the long corridors. She had come to learn that Annalisa was not yet open to the abundant conversation she was willing to offer. They finally arrived in a part of the palace that she had never seen before. It was beautiful and more extravagant than any other part of it she had ever seen. She would have to remember to show Alice, Emma, and Cecily this part of the palace. She was shaken from her thoughts when Amelia stopped in front of double doors that went up to the ceiling.

"Enjoy Miss," Amelia said with a smile as she opened one of the doors to allow Lisa to enter.

She slowly walked in still trying take in some of the sights of the room. Amelia closed the door behind her and she did not notice him until he was making his way over to her. She quickly looked to him as he stopped a few feet in front of her.

"I'm happy you have decided to join me," he said with a smile. She was about to say something back, but thought it best to keep her mouth closed. She would just give him what he wanted now, and hopefully that would keep him away from her bedroom at night.

"Please," he said taking her hand as he began to walk back over to the table, "sit."

He pulled out a chair for her and she looked at him suspiciously before sitting in the chair.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

He took the chair beside her and began devouring the fruits and pastries on his plate.

"The food's not half bad, you know," he told her after seeing she had not eaten much.

She had been starving, but now her stomach seemed to be preoccupied with nervous butterflies. She picked up a muffin and began to pick at it. The food was good and her appetite soon returned.

"You know you can talk to me," he said. "I won't have you thrown in the dungeon."

"I have nothing to say," she said coldly.

"That is funny," he started. "You seem to be a pretty bold one."

"With all due respect," she started getting a little agitated, "I am not the one that asked to have breakfast with you. I was perfectly fine eating breakfast where I was."

He just stared at her, and she was sure she was going to get locked in her room for at least another week. But instead he just smiled. He looked at her plate and saw that she had finished most of the food that was on her plate.

"Would you care to join me for a walk in the courtyard?"

"Do I have a choice?" she said after a few seconds of silence.

"You always have a choice," he told her.

"Apparently, I do not."

* * *

"Do you hate me that much?" he asked as they walked through the courtyard. She hadn't said anything to him since they had left the dinning room.

She looked at him, but did not answer.

"This is insane, you do not know me," he told her.

"You do not know me either, but yet you have managed to take my life away from me," she told him.

They were both silent for a while.

"How much did you pay her?" she asked.

He paused. "Does it matter now?"

"Yes it does," she told him as she stopped walking. "If I am to be traded like a piece of meat, I have to right to know how much I was traded for."

"That's funny," he said. "I have never met a piece of meat as stubborn as you are."

She rolled her eyes at him and began to walk ahead of him.

"Would you calm down," he said as he quickened his pace to catch up with her. He grabbed her by her arm to make her stop walking.

"You're mother and I had a long talk. Do not be angry with her, it was I who requested you. She did not barter you off like most of the girls I have acquired over time. "

She just glared at him.

"Or maybe you should be angry with her, if that would stop you from being angry with me. "

"You are unbelievable."

"My dear," he started with a smirk, "I do not believe you have had the pleasure."

She huffed and was about to walk away until he grabbed her by her arm and turned her back to him.

"It was a joke," he told her. "Well not really, because it is true."

He stared at her and he could tell that she was still a little upset. He did not mind, he kind of liked her like this. He brought his hand up slowly and tucked one of the stray curls that had fallen from the pin up behind her ear. He brushed his thumb across her cheek and her breath got caught in her throat. This was just what she did not want to happen. She noticed his face coming closer to hers and at the last minute turned her head so that he kissed her cheek. He could not help the laugh that escaped him at the realization of what she had done.

"You know most girls in your situation would be happy to have a chance to serve the prince."

"You have plenty of girls to serve you as it is. I do not understand why I am here."

"You are here for the same reasons they are."

"I will not do what they do," she told him.

"Don't be so haste to make a decision," he told her. "You might like what they do."

She was about to say something, but she heard a familiar voice coming from behind him.

"Annalisa?"

He turned around and she looked pass him to see her mother standing there. She felt a twinge of joy in her heart, but soon remembered that she was the reason she was there at the palace.

"I will leave you two alone to talk," he told them. He turned to Annalisa. "I will see you later tonight."

She felt a lump grow in her throat at the realization and almost forgot that her mother was there until she felt a hand on her arm.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, I am fine," she said as she took a few steps back from her mother, "considering the circumstances."

"I am sorry," she admitted. "I didn't know what else to do. I saw this as an out for you."

"There are three other peo…,"

"He asked for you," her mother reminded her. "He has taken a liking to you. I thought this would be best, now you do not have to worry about finding a husband."

"Well you are right about one thing, I will never find a husband after having been the prince's whore."

Her mother's eyes widened at her fowl language. She looked away, feeling a little bad about the tone she had taken with her mother.

"I am sorry," she repeated. "I am ashamed, but I could not deny him. If he really wanted you, he would have come for you either way. The only thing that could have saved you were if you were engaged to be married. I wish you were, but…," her mother trailed off.

She didn't have to finish. She knew what she was going to say. It was not her fault that all of the young men she had held courtship with had been scared off by her 'abrasiveness' as they would call it. She knew what her mother was thinking. It did not matter if she was given to the prince, she would never have gotten married anyway, and now she was right. It was no use severing family ties over what was already done. She walked over and wrapped her arms around her mother. The woman returned the hug and repeated that she was sorry.

* * *

"Well you can just stay in my room," Annalisa offered. She had just asked Cecily if she could sleep in her room. The girl told her that the prince would only come looking for her.

"He'll just ask me to leave," Cecily told her. She looked at the saddened look on her cousin's face. "I'm sorry Annalisa. Maybe you'll be able to talk him into seeing one of the other girls again tonight."

She did not answer. She knew that she couldn't keep this up much longer. She felt Cecily's arms wrap around her and she hugged the girl back.

"Goodnight. I'll see you in the morning," with that Cecily turned to leave the room.

She felt so alone, knowing that he would be coming in any minute. She climbed into the bed, hoping to fall asleep before he came for her. It almost worked. She was a minute away from sleep when she heard the door opening. Her heartbeat sped up, but she managed to lay still. She closed her eyes again and tried not to move, thinking maybe he would leave. Her luck didn't seem to be that good. She felt the bed lower under his weight as he sat down. She felt his fingers caressing her arm as they made their way up to her neck. He moved her hair away and she felt the warmth of his body come closer as he leaned over. She felt him breathing in her ear right before she felt his lips on her neck. She tried to shrug him off, but he ignored it. Soon his hand started to roam her body, and she couldn't lie still anymore.

She got up out of the bed and walked over to the dresser and mirror on the other side of the room. It was only when she was this safe distance away that she looked at him.

"I was trying to sleep," she said trying to sound as cold and confident as she could, but he could since the nervousness.

He only smiled at her, as he got up form the bed and made his way over to her. She looked away again, focusing on her reflection in the mirror. He reached for her and turned her around to face him, before pressing his lips to hers. She tried to push him away, but he pinned her between his body and the dresser. His mouth moved to her jaw line, then her neck. He picked her up and placed her on the dresser and stood between her thighs. She would have been able to enjoy how good his lips actually felt on her if it were not for his hands slowly raising her night gown, reminding her of what it really was that he was there for.

"No," she said trying to prevent his hands from going further up her gown. But she could not stop him as his hands continued to move. She tried again, "Wait."

"I've waited long enough," he said before he attacked her neck again.

"I'm not ready," she said as her eyes grew watery. His hands were now making their way into places they had no business being. "Give me another week."

He ignored her as he moved his hands up to slide the top of the night gown down. She could now feel him pressing up against her thigh.

"Five days?" she questioned, and he continued ignoring her as his lips followed the top of the night gown as it sunk lower.

"Three more days?" she suggested. He ignored her.

She placed both her hands on the side of his face, making him make eye contact with her. "Two more days," she pleaded. "Please."

He was about to push her hands aside and continue doing what he was doing, until he saw two tears finally break free from her eyes and roll down her cheeks.

"Please," she repeated again quietly.

He stared at her for a while before looking away. He let out a frustrated sigh and placed his hands on the dresser on each side of her as he stood in deep thought.

Inside she was preparing to fight tooth and nail, but she was hoping that she didn't have to, because she knew it was a battle that she would lose. She watched as he mumbled some profanity under his breath. He grabbed his robe off of the chair. He wanted her to come to him. It would be better that way. He did not like exerting his obvious power over people. He would rather get into their heads and make them do what he wanted. He wanted her to offer herself to him and if she needed two more days to do that then he could wait. She had already proven herself to be more headstrong than the other girls, so getting into her head would be more rewarding than just taking her.

"Two days," he said gruffly before exiting the room.

* * *

"She is pretty," James said as he looked at the painting along with Gregory, Alexander, and William.

It was a painting of the princess of Spain, the soon to be Queen of England once she was married to the prince.

"She is," Greg agreed. She had dark hair with brown eyes. She had nice features and he was extremely happy that he hadn't gotten stuck with someone less attractive. That was always the thing we these prearranged weddings.

"Do you like the gift the king of Spain sent to you?"

They all looked around to see the queen walking into the room. She walked over to them and they all bowed slightly to acknowledge her presence.

"Yes mother," he said as she joined them in analyzing the picture.

"She is a beautiful girl," the Queen continued. "I'm sure you two will fall in love the moment you meet."

"It is not loving her that I am worried about," he started. "If I can merely tolerate her it would be to my advantage. "

James and Alex laughed a little, knowing that he often had a low tolerance for people.

"I am sure you two will be fine," she told him. "You may even get to meet her in a few months."

They all turned to look at her a little shocked at what she had said. She continued.

"I invited her to come and visit us for a few weeks, for the winter ball," she paused. "Next year that is. The king has also requested that you join him on a hunting trip."

He wasn't really excited to hear this news. He did not want to play nice with this man, just so he could marry his daughter. He knew that the only reason they were getting married was because the two older men wanted the alliance that the marriage would bring between their two countries.

"You are going," she said before turning to him with a knowing look, "and you will be on your best behavior. Good day, boys." With that she left the room.

All of them had a smirk on their faces except for Greg.

"Well," James said beaming from the smile on his face, "this should be fun."

"Shut up," was the only reply he got.

Greg left out of the room and James followed him, leaving Alex and William behind.

"Maybe it won't be that bad," he told him. "I mean this is something you actually like doing."

"I am marrying the girl, not him," he said. "I should not have to entertain him like I am some sort of fool just for his amu…," he stopped as he passed by one of the windows that opened up into the courtyard.

There was a group of younger kids playing out in the courtyard and four older girls playing with them. He noticed one of them to be the concubine who had not yet begun to serve her purpose.

"That's odd. I've never known you as one to be fond of children."

"I am not," he said. It wasn't that he disliked children. He was just not as amused by them as others were.

Then James noticed the girl. "Have you lain with her yet?"

He did not answer and James took that as his answer as he let out an amused "Hmph."

Greg shot him a mean glare before he started to make his way down to the courtyard. He could hear them all laughing before he reached them and stood silently watching as they continued to play. He walked closer to her, and still no one seemed to notice him until she backed into him. She turned around quickly to face him, and the smile left her face when she saw who it was. He smiled down at her.

"Having fun?"

"I was, yes," she said regaining her confident composure. She said it to make sure that he knew that he had ruined the fun she was having, just with his presence.

"I could tell. But it's funny," he continued, "you never seem to want to play with me. We can have fun too you know."

She was about to answer him, as she was getting more confident in telling him exactly what she was thinking, since it seemed like they had a one-upsmanship conversation every time they spoke to each other, but a little girl ran up to them interrupting them.

"Come on Annalisa," the girl said as she began tugging on her arm. "We are going to go to the fields to pick flowers."

"Addie, quiet," on of the other girls said as she scooped the little girl up and took her away. They could hear her being lightly scolded by the girl for intruding on the prince's conversation.

"If you'd excuse me," Annalisa said before turning to follow the girls and the children out of the courtyard.

"I will see you tomorrow night," he said with a smirk, as her confident stride faltered a little at the comment.

* * *

"What are you going to do?" Cecily asked as the walked through the field of wild flowers while the children ran about playing and picking flowers. Usually she wouldn't have asked that questioned because she didn't think there was anything that she could do, but she was starting to realize that the girl always came up with something.

"I don't know," she said. She thought for a little while before revealing her true plan. "I was thinking about leaving, about going back home."

"What?" Cecily yelled. "Are you mad?"

"Lower your voice," Annalisa said, not wanting anyone else to hear her plan.

"He won't let you leave," she informed her.

"I know he won't, that's why I don't plan on telling him."

"He will just come to find you," she said.

"It will give me more time, at least."

"I don't know about this," Cecily told her. "He's going to be angry. Who knows what he will do?"

"Well I can only hope that he won't be too mad," Annalisa said. The truth is she was banking on his ability to keep his temper somewhat in check when dealing with her to avoid a faith worse than being locked in her bedroom when he did find her. "You're coming with me."

"Why do I have to get dragged into this? I don't want any part of this."

"Fine," Annalisa said defiantly as she stopped to face Cecily. "You can face him all on your own when he comes to ask you about where I've gone."

Cecily just stared at her. She knew that she would be the first person that he would look for after he found Annalisa gone.

"Alright," she said after a while. "But if this goes bad you are taking all the blame."

* * *

The next evening before it got dark, but after business around the palace had quieted down a little, Annalisa made her way to her mother's room where Cecily was staying. She knocked, and about five seconds later, the girl opened the door.

"Come on, lets go," she said.

"I'm not going," Cecily told her. She hoped that her refusal to go would scare the girl into staying. She wouldn't possibly go by herself since night would fall before she reached the house.

Annalisa studied her to see if she was telling the truth. Cecily didn't waver in her stare.

"Fine, I'll go by myself,"

"What?" Cecily asked, again surprised. The girl began walking down the hall, never looking back. Cecily grabbed the bag she had packed just in case and hurried behind her.

"This is not going to work," Cecily said as they started down the road, after getting past the palace walls.

"Well it's already working. I would be going much better if you'd just stop being so negative."

They made it to back to the village quicker than expected after receiving a ride on a wagon from an older couple. They said their thanks to the couple and quickly made their way to the door. Without knocking, they entered, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. Emma was the most expressive about her excitement in seeing them as she ran up to them and hugged them.

"What are you doing here?" Margery asked as a smile came across her face. She was also happy for the surprise visit, but that would change when she found out the circumstances.

"She ran away from the palace and made me come with her," Cecily said, obviously a little upset with her cousin.

Annalisa just glared at her. She was not ready to divulge that information just yet.

"You did what?" Margery yelled.

"Hello Sarah," Annalisa said, speaking to Thomas's fiance, trying to avoid the confrontation with her mother.

"Answer me when I am talking to you," Margery told her.

"Well what was I supposed to do?" Annalisa asked. "I had to do something. It's not like I chose this situation for myself." With that she went into the room her and Cecily used to share, locking the door behind her.

She could hear her mother's state of panic from the bedroom, but she did not care. At least she would get one good night of sleep before he came looking for her in the morning.

* * *

A/N: Okay, this isn't the bickering I was talking about. I thought it would be in this part, but it will be in the next. I already have the next part mostly written but I won't be posting for a few days, seeing that I have a test on Wednesday. It will be good, funny bickering, well I think so anyway, but I wrote it so of course I'm biased. Thanks for the reviews... keep them coming, because I know this is kind of an unusual story and I wanna make sure you guys are still with me or if I should change something.

Oh, and can anyone guess who the princess of Spain is? Remember her name is _Anastacia_.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Okay, sorry for the extra day or so wait. Yesterday was a bit spontaneous, but still fun. This part does contain some of the bickering I was talking about. It's a little long, but don't expect all the rest of the chapters to be this long.

* * *

He made his way down the hall and to the room that was holding his newest prize. To his surprise, when he opened the door, no one was there. He stood confused before leaving out of the room and sending for her maid. Before long, Amelia was scurrying down the hall.

"Where is the girl?" he asked harshly, not really upset with her though.

"I do not know sire," she said. "I thought she was with you."

He could not see the girls face because she was holding her head down, but he could tell she was telling the truth from how surprised and frighten she was. She was clearly caught off guard and had not been expecting him to summon her.

"Do you have any idea where she has gone?" he asked Amelia who was still standing in front of him, visibly frightened.

"No sire. I did not know she was gone," she repeated.

"Do you know her cousin?"

"Yes sire."

"Go and get her."

"Right away sire." With that, she rushed off towards the labor floors.

He told the guard to bring Cecily to him when Amelia got back. He went into one of the waiting rooms, and a few minutes later, the guard informed him that Cecily was gone also.

He thought about it for a while. "Go ready my horse and the carriage. Get James and Alex and thell them I need them to come with me."

"Yes your majesty," the man said before walking off.

There was only one place a young girl could go that was safe without any one exposing her whereabouts. Well she could also have hidden in the woods, but she would probably go home, not wanting to become some wild animals dinner.

* * *

Annalisa was in her room talking to Emma. The girl seemed to have plenty questions. Everything had calmed down for the night, but her mother assured her that she was going back to the palace the first thing in the morning. She had thought about leaving early in the morning and would probably take her chances hiding out somewhere else. She would only be able to be herself a few more days before she was found by one of his men or outed by a villager. She was too afraid to go out into the woods. She would during the day, but not at night. Returning to her mother's house only at night was not an option because she knew that he would be watching their home. They were interrupted when they heard a loud knock on the front door. Normally they would have thought it was one of the neighbors, but it was a little late. Before they could make it to the living room, they heard Margery mumble a slightly frightened 'Your Majesty' and then a gruff 'where is the girl?'

Before anyone could answer Annalisa appeared at the entrance of the hallway with Emma next to her. His glare immediately went to her and she could see the anger in his eyes. She was scared, but probably would have coward away if she had not been surrounded by her family. She looked behind him and saw James and Alex as he began walking over to her.

"How dare you leave without asking me," he told her as he grabbed her arm. "Let's go."

"Let go of me," she said knocking his hand away," he looked back at her, caught off guard by her disobedience to him. "You are not my father. You do not tell me when or where I can go."

"You are coming with me right now, and I will not tolerate your rudeness any longer. I am your future ki…,"

"My rudeness?" she said cutting him off. "I am not the one who is rude. You are. You would think you would have learned some manners with all the education you received being the future king and all."

"Annalisa!" Margery yelled trying to stop her daughter from getting into even more trouble than she was already in. She was usually good at minding her manners, but she was upset and all of that went out of the window. Everyone else in the room just stood in awe at the argument going on in front of them. He may have been royalty, but when it came to arguing she could hold her own against him.

He took a few steps towards her and on instinct Thomas took a step towards the both of them, prepared to protect his little sister if he had to. He saw Alex take a step towards them also after he had made his move. Luckily for him, he thought, the prince had managed to keep his anger in check.

Sarah had moved to Thomas's side. She only lived a few houses down the road and had not returned home yet after staying for dinner. She and Thomas were due to get married in a few short weeks.

"Like, I said," he began, "we are leaving."

He grabbed Annalisa's arm and was prepared to drag her out of the door, but Margery stepped in front of them.

"Your Majesty, please stay," she said. "I just put on a pot of tea and Cecily has made some pastries. We would love for you to join us."

He looked as if he was thinking about it. He had been taught by his parents to never turn down a polite invitation and a show of hospitality from the people of the country he was to one day rule. It was vital to a king's reign, if he wanted it to be successful, to have a good relationship with the people he ruled over.

She noticed that he and Annalisa were also still glaring at each other, each of them refusing to be weak and be the first one to look away. The truth is, she just wanted him to stay a while and have a chance to calm down, before taking her daughter back with him. She thought that maybe the girl's punishment wouldn't be as bad. "I would be insulted if you didn't."

"I will be happy to stay," he said after a short silence.

"Come on," Cecily said as she pulled Annalisa away, making her break the stare.

Margery, Alice, Emma, and Sarah served everyone in the room, Alice being sure to serve the prince his with a smile, while Cecily brought Lisa in the back and calmed her down. A little while later, they both joined the others in the living room in front of the small fire that Thomas had started to warm the house. Greg looked at her as she sat on the sofa across from him, but she refused to give him the pleasure of making eye contact with him. He almost chuckled to himself. He had been having a pleasant conversation with her family, and wondered how such a girl could come from such a seemingly good family. Her mother had apologized for both herself and her daughter repetitively.

"Would you like more tea, Mr. Wilson?" Margery asked after seeing his mug was empty.

"Yes, please," he said. The warm liquid was welcomed after having being pulled from his bed to go on a woman hunt. He knew they would be leaving soon to go back to the palace and decided to stock up on the warmth.

"I'll get it," Cecily said being her usual helpful self.

She took the mug from his hand and returned shortly with a full mug.

"Thank you," he said with a warm smile as he made eye contact with her.

"You are welcome," she blushed before taking her seat next to Annalisa. They talked a little while longer. Alice mostly dominating the conversation and directing her questions towards the prince, making her interest in him obvious to everyone in the room. He was tactful and entertained her without leading her on. Everyone seemed to talk to each other except for Annalisa and Greg. She was obviously ignoring him and it was clear that he would get a little upset all over again when he thought about what had happened.

When he stood and announced that they were leaving, Margery did not protest, feeling that he had calmed down enough. Annalisa did not move and he glared at her. He was about to say something until Cecily pulled her in the back with her. "Let us get our things."

They returned shortly.

"I will see you later," Annalisa told Thomas, Emma, and Sarah. Alice had already went to her room, upset about the prince's leaving and taking Annalisa instead of her. "Hopefully I have not picked up any bad habits," she said shooting Greg a nasty look, "the next time you see me."

She walked passed him, and he reached out to grab her arm and yell at her about the comment she had just made. But she saw him reaching for her and she pulled away with a 'hmph', not allowing him to lay a hand on her as she strutted past him, leaving him with a confused, angry look.

James just smiled at the expression on his face. Before long, the men had mounted their horses and Annalisa and Cecily sat comfortably in the carriage. The girls argued the whole way back. Cecily telling her that the plan had been ludicrous all alone. She argued back that it had served its purpose. She had been spared another night, at least she hoped. They felt the carriage come to a stop and before the girls could finish their argument or open the door to get out, the door flew open and Annalisa was grabbed by her wrist and pulled from the carriage. He did not miss a stride and continued to pull her towards the entrance of the palace. She had to run slightly to keep up with him.

Cecily climbed out quickly with a look of concern on her face as she looked after them.

"Don't worry," she heard someone say. She turned around to see James standing there. "He is all talk. Now if she was a he then I'd be worried." He knew that his friend was better aped to control his temper with a woman better than a man after having broken up many bloody fist fights between him and William.

"He won't hurt her will he?" she asked as she watched them disappear behind the palace walls.

"No. There is no need for concern." He watched her as she still looked a little worried. "Com'on," he offered her his arm, "I'll walk you back to your chamber."

She looked in the direction that Annalisa had just disappeared before quietly taking his arm.

* * *

"Will you slow down?" she asked. "I cannot walk as fast as you can."

"You were walking quite fine earlier this evening."

She rolled her eyes as she continued to half run, and be half pulled by him. "Well that's real mature. I can see why your father is so eager to let you take over as king," she said remembering what she had heard in the hall that day.

"Have you been talking to my father?" he asked, wondering how the girl would have even gotten into contact with him. His father wouldn't confide in her that kind of information if he did make contact with her.

"No, I have not had the pleasure," she said as she rolled her eyes at him again. "And would you let go of my arm, you are hurting me."

He loosened his grip on her, but she saw that was only because they were now standing in front of her room. She saw Amelia stand quickly from the floor where she had been sitting.

"See that she is here when I get back," he said harshly.

"Yes sire," Amelia said quickly as he had already turned his back to leave.

The girls both looked at each other before Annalisa turned to go into her room. Amelia followed her. She saw Annalisa pacing the room, obviously still fuming over the events that had just transpired. She was going on about how much she hated the prince. Amelia tried to calm her and tried to get her into her night clothes, she had been given strict instructions by the prince before he left. That was how she had known to wait by the door until they got back.

"Miss please," she said. "I do not wish to get into any more trouble with the prince tonight."

Annalisa stopped ranting and looked at the girl after hearing this. She had not meant to get the girl into any trouble.

"Please," Amelia pleaded.

Annalisa nodded and followed Amelia to the washroom. She had been in her room less than five minutes when the door flew open and the prince entered. She stood quickly from the bed. She had not been expecting a visit from him, and she could tell that he was still angry.

The last person he wanted to be around right now was her, but he had had no other choice. Somehow it had gotten out that the girl was not serving her purpose. Since more than half of the occupants of the castle were awake when they arrived he had to put on the impression that she was. He would have made her had he not been angry to the point of not wanting to touch her, well maybe he wanted to touch her, but he did not want to be near her. And since touching her meant being near her, he was a little put off from it. He would have left her with her mother, but he was more determined to have her obey him than he was annoyed with her.

"Don't worry," he reassured her. "I do not want to be here anymore than you want me here?"

"Well then, why are you here?" she asked feeling a little more confident that she would not be fighting a loosing battle tonight. She knew that he was upset, and that if he was going to take her, there would be nothing she could say or do this time.

"I do not answer to you," he told her as he removed his robe and placed it on the chair. He opened the door and stuck his head out. She heard him mumbled something about water before closing the door again. She watched him as he paced the room slowly, never looking at her. He opted to sit in front of the mirror that was on the opposite side of the room. She watched as he ran his hand over his face and leaned forward as if in deep thought.

There was a knock on the door, he got up to open it and Amelia stepped in with a tray that held a pitcher of water and two glasses. She sat it on the holder that stood in the room before exiting silently. He grabbed one of the glasses and began downing its contents. He emptied it and placed it back on the tray before resuming his previous position in the chair.

The silence was driving her crazy, so she decided to say something. "Are you going to tell me why you are here?"

"I told you," he said in a low tone. "I do not answer to you."

"Well if you are going to sulk about something, I'd rather you do it somewhere else. Some people would like to get some sleep."

"Well this people would have loved to have been asleep a long time ago," he started, "but he could not because he had to chase some other people around in the middle of the night because she cannot obey orders."

"I do not have to obey your orders."

"Yes, you do," he told her matter-of-factly.

He saw from his side view that she was about to open her mouth to protest, but he did not feel like hearing her, so he cut her off at the pass. "Go to bed."

"I am not a child, and I do not appreciate you co…," she was about to give him a piece of her mind but he stood up and cut her off.

"That is funny," he said. He wasn't yelling but the amount of anger he felt was obvious in his tone and the way he stared at her as he began to walk towards her. "Because that is just what you are acting like. And clearly you do not appreciate anything. I did not come here to hear your mouth, so it would be to your benefit to be quiet and not say anything else to me for the rest of the night."

He turned away from her and she looked up at him from the bed she was now sitting on. She had fallen onto it after backing away from him as he walked towards her. She had forgotten that she was not in the safety of her own home anymore surrounded by her family. She watched him pace a little while longer.

He did not want to be anywhere near her, but he did not have anywhere else to sleep but in her bed. He was tired and did not want to stay awake any longer. He hadn't long ago arrived in her room and if he left now, the dozens of prying eyes outside would not think what he wanted them to think. Slowly he began walking towards the bed. He watched as she quickly got up on her knees and moved to the other side of the bed against the wall as she prepared to defend herself. At least she was a little afraid of him. That showed she had at least a little respect for him. He had started to think that she had none for him. He climbed into the bed and laid on the end furthest from the wall, leaving her between him and said wall. He turned his back to her, put the lantern out, and closed his eyes, exhausted from the night's events. After a while, he heard her let out a loud sigh. She adjusted herself so she was now lying down.

He felt her tossing, but decided to ignore her. She stopped after a while. He had almost dozed off to sleep when he felt her moving closer to him. She stopped abruptly when she made contact with him. She had been trying not to touch him, but to get as far away from the wall as she could. It was a cold night, the first signs of winter showing and the cold coming off of the walls were sending a chill through her body.

He turned to face her, wondering what she was doing. She felt him staring at her, and turned to look at him shortly before staring up at the ceiling again.

"The walls are cold," she said simply.

"Do you know what else is cold?" he asked, but didn't give her a chance to answer. "Riding on a horse in the middle of the night in the middle of October."

Her brows furrowed. She had not asked for one of his sarcastic comments. "Switch spots with me."

"So I can be the cold one?" he asked rhetorically. "I'd rather not."

"Please?"

"No."

She let out a frustrated breath. "Fine."

She folded her arms over her chest and pouted like a three year old. He opened one eye and could dimly see her face from the moonlight that entered the window. The wind howled and she winced as the window too was also closer to her. He fought to hold back his laughter, but ultimately let a snicker escape him. This was what she got for making him go out into the cold in the middle of the night. Suddenly he wasn't mad anymore. There was something about anger that once you laughed, it was hard to regain it again. You could pretend, but it was never really there again.

"I hope you are enjoying yourself, because I find nothing amusing," she quipped at him. "You could at least get up and light the fire place."

"I am not the one who is cold now, am I?"

"Fine, I'll do it myself," she told him.

"There is no wood in this room," he informed her. The firewood had not been disbursed to the rooms, but he would have to remind his father to give the order since winter seemed to be arriving a little early this year.

"Well I'll go find some," she said, about to get out of the bed.

He put his arm around her waist and forced her to lie back down. She shot him a mean glare.

"You are not allowed to go anywhere unless I or someone I deem accountable is with you."

"Why not?" she asked a little shocked by his statement.

"You, my dear, are like a wandering child," he told her. "We don't want you getting lost again now do we?"

She laid back down obediently, not willing to provoke his nasty temper to surface again, and folded her arms across her body. It wasn't until her arms rested on top of his that she realized his arm was still around her waist. She was lying on her back and he was lying on his side facing her. He noticed her body stiffen at the realization and pulled her closer. She looked up to him with questioning eyes.

"Now you should be warm," he said in a serious tone.

She looked away from him and back up at the ceiling. She still wasn't comfortable with being so close to him, but she had to admit, she was starting to warm up. The wind howled again and she could still feel it a little through the window despite the numerous sheets and blankets on the bed. She noticed he had fallen asleep, and decided that it would not hurt anything to get closer and warmer, since he would not know.

She turned to face him, about to adjust herself to get closer to him, but her movement stirred him and he ended up pulling her closer than she had intended to get. The wind still howled outside, and she decided she was glad for the warmth, even if it was coming from the obsessive, narcissistic man lying beside her.

She found a place for her head in the crook of his shoulder and made herself comfortable. Before long, she had fallen asleep.

* * *

"Miss?" Amelia said as she knocked on the door and slowly began to push it open after she didn't hear any protests. "I was just comi…," the sight before her made her breath get caught in her throat and froze her where she stood. She couldn't help the smile that came to her face. The initial shock was still there but the sight before her was so sweet, her heart couldn't help but to warm at it. She had had an idea of what might have happened in the room the night before, but what she saw disproved everything about her theory.

There was the 'cold-hearted' prince lying with the girl everyone was sure he was going to almost kill the night before wrapped securely in his arms. She lay across his chest in a peaceful slumber and his arm was wrapped around her holding her close. Her head laid on his shoulder just inches away from his face, making one wonder if they had shared a passionate kiss before they had drifted off to sleep. Most surprising yet, they were both fully clothed.

Amelia decided that she did not want to wake them and quietly made her way out of the room. It was still very early, and they had gotten back late. She had heard the yelling after that, and knew that they had not immediately gone to sleep.

He stirred from his sleep when he heard the faint sound of a door closing. His eyes popped open and he looked around the room, but found no one there. He went to move and realized that he had a weight on his arm and chest that normally wasn't there when he woke in the morning. He turned to find a mess of brown curls partially hiding the face of who he soon recognized to be his contrary concubine. He stared at her for a while, then raised his hands to brush the curls out of her face to get a better look at her. He snorted slightly at the sight that lay in his arms. She was beautiful when she was asleep, but caused him nothing but hell when she was awake. If he could keep her this somber when she was awake, he thought, his life would be much less complicated as of late.

The smile left his face and more thoughtful look replaced it. He threaded his fingers through her hair as his thumb began to softly caress her cheek. She really was beautiful, even more so without the light make up she wore every day. His thumb trailed to her lips. He had only faintly noticed how soft they were since every time he kissed her she had been pushing him away. He wanted to kiss her, to actually be able to appreciate how soft her lips were against his. He slowly lowered his face and pressed his lips to hers, giving her a tender kiss. He pulled away after a few seconds and she let out a soft sigh. Of course she would enjoy his kisses when she was asleep, he thought. She snuggled closer to him and seemed to drift back off into a deep sleep. He closed his eyes and let his thoughts guide him back to sleep. She was unlike any other person he had met, and he liked that. He liked the power that he had over people, but it was more rewarding when he could manipulate people into giving him that power over them. She would be his new conquest, his goal, to make her obey him, to decipher her, to seduce her.

When he opened his eyes again, he could feel that it was later. He did not have time to gather how late though as there someone was staring at him as if confused about something. Her face was mere inches from his and she had not moved from his grasp. Upon seeing him open his eyes, she continued to stare.

"What are you doing?" he asked groggily.

"I am trying to figure out what it is that everyone else sees in you," she told him. "They say charm, but I don't see it."

"Amazing," he told her in a tone that told her he was unfazed. "Because I can clearly see what every man sees in you that has caused you to still be unwed by now. "

Her brows furrowed and he could see a small twinge of hurt pass over her face. She quickly hid it and turned her back to him as she began moving away. For a reason unknown to him, he tightened his grip on her, not allowing her to move. Surprisingly she did not fight him, but kept her back turned.

It was funny to him how the girl that could dish it out so well and seemed to have an endless bank of ways and words to hurt his feelings could not take it, or maybe he thought, he had just hit on the wrong subject.

She shivered as she had lost a lot of the warmth of his body heat after having moved a few inches away from him. The room was still chilled, and he figured it would be a cool day. He pulled her closer so her back was flat against his chest and held her there. She didn't pull away and neither of them spoke, both of them consumed by their own separate thoughts.

After a while, she felt his lips brush against the back of her neck. She expected him to try and go further, but to her surprise. He took his arm from around her and got up. She missed his warmth immediately. She heard him moving around behind her, but never turned around. The door opened and closed and she finally turn for visual confirmation that he had left the room. She felt a little saddened and then conflicted. Why was she sad that he had left? This was the man that had taken her from her family, taken away her dreams of getting married and raising a family, and treated her as only an object of lust. Maybe it was because she was away from her family, and besides Cecily, Amelia, and Gieselle sometimes, he was the only one that she ever really talked to or spent any time with.

She was interrupted from her thoughts when Amelia barged into the room, glowing. "Miss, the prince has asked you join him for lunch. You have both missed breakfast, but I didn't want to wake you."

Amelia badly wanted to know what had happened the night before, but though she thought the girl was nice, she was not sure that she would be comfortable enough to share that kind of information with her. Annalisa nodded and rose from the bed as Amelia went to one of the Armoires to acquire what would be her dress for the day. When she was dressed, her and Amelia both exited the room. She spotted Mary giving her an evil glare, but turned away quickly.

"Don't mind her," Amelia told her. "She is just upset because the prince only left your chambers less than an hour ago. He has never stayed that long with a girl, not even her. He would usually get up and leave right after and return to his chambers, sometimes he stays, but never the whole night. You are…,"

Amelia went on the entire way to the dinning hall where the prince awaited her. Annalisa did not stop her this time, she was actually starting to take a liking to the girl. By the time they reached their destination, she was sure she knew just about all there was to know about the prince and his habits with each of the different girls.

Amelia opened the double doors for her and she stepped in quietly. Again, he rose and pulled out her chair for her. She said a thank you and they began eating. It was silent at first. She was still a little unsure if he had gotten over what had happened the night before. Although they bickered a lot, she still wasn't quite confident with being in his presence and did not want to set him off again.

"So where is the off button?" he asked her with a smile.

"Excuse me," she replied, not quite sure of what he was talking about.

"On your mouth," he told her. "It always seems to be on when it should not, and off when it should be on."

"I don't know if anyone has ever told you this…," she started, but he cut her off.

"No, but I'm sure you are about to tell me," he knew by now that it didn't take much from him to get her going, that is, unless she feared that he was about to hurt her.

She shot him a mean glare and ignored him. "You are a very rude man, and I no longer wish to be in your presence."

She was about to stand to leave, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down. "Sit down, eat, you haven't eaten anything since we came from your mother's. Lunch has already been served, this will be the only food you will get around here until dinner time."

She looked at him contemplating what he had just said. They had actually slept so late that they missed lunch. Amelia had informed her of this. She had also told her that this was the reason he had invited her to lunch, knowing that she would not be served lunch unless he gave the say so. She could just go down to the kitchen and ask the cooks for some food, but she thought it better to stay there just in case he had told them not to feed her.

"So, do you have any plans today?" he asked her after she had been silent for a while.

"Yes," she told him. He laughed quietly to himself after she did not elaborate.

"Do you care to tell me what they are?"

"No, I do not."

"You may want to reconsider," he told her. "If they involve you leaving the palace you will need my permission."

She looked at him for a moment and he smiled a victorious smile. She had forgotten about the little rule he had sat in place for her.

"If you must know," she started in a tone that told him she was not pleased about sharing the information with him, "I am going to the market."

"Anything in particular you plan to buy?"

She let out a frustrated sigh. "My brother and Sarah are getting married in a few weeks. I want to get them a gift." She went back to the food on her plate.

"Hmmm," he said mostly to himself. "I haven't been to the market in a while. I think I'll join you."

She looked at him and he smiled and winked. She turned back, obviously not pleased with the knowledge that she would be having a chaperon for the evening. He had had no plans for the day, and after seeing that she was so easily worked up, he decided messing with her would be fun. It would also allow him to keep an eye on her. It was a pretty day out, a little cool, but he did not mind going to the market.

"Are they good?" he asked after seeing her pick up another truffle from the platter.

"My mother's recipe is better," she told him plainly.

"I doubt the…,"

"Have you ever tasted my mother's truffles?" she asked him, not trying at all to hide her attitude.

"No," he smiled. "I can't say I have had the ple…,"

"Then why are you speaking of something which you know nothing of?" She glared at him and he opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. He heard a snort behind him and he turned to see the guard trying desperately to hide the smile on his face. The man's face was blood red.

"Do you have something you wish to say Henry?"

"No your majesty," the man said, the smile quickly washed away by fear.

"If you would excuse me," she said backing away from the table. He stood as he had been taught to do. "I am going to get Cecily, she is going to the market with me."

Henry opened the door for her to exit and she gave a polite thanks accompanied with smile. He smiled back and nodded, he liked the girl. She was the only one that had come through the castle that could shut the prince up, besides his good friend James, but she seemed to be much more efficient at it. Henry looked back and the smile that he had given Annalisa quickly disappeared when he saw the man walking towards him. He straightened his stance and face, and the prince only glared at him as he exited.

* * *

A/N: I hope you liked it.


	7. Chapter 7

"Is there anything in particular you are looking for, Miss?" Amelia asked.

Annalisa had opted to take Amelia with her after Cecily had declined. She said she was feeling a little under the weather, but encouraged Annalisa to go on anyway. Since Amelia did go with her, the prince had decided it would be okay to let them look around on their own while he, James, and Alex searched for something that was of interest to them. He was dressed down so not many people recognized him, he liked it that way.

"Just something nice for them," she said. They searched a little more and Annalisa spotted a beautiful crystal wind chime, it was made from different color crystals.

"These are beautiful," she said as she walked over to the cart. "How much are they?" She asked the older man.

"Thirty pieces of gold," he said gruffly.

"I only have thirteen," she told him, and that was with hers and Cecily's combined. They had both been saving to buy Thomas and Sarah a gift, and Cecily had given her money to her after she had been sick.

"Thirty pieces of gold," the man said, not giving her a chance to barter.

"Com'on Miss," Amelia said after seeing the staring match that had started between Annalisa and the man, "maybe we should go to the other end of the market."

This made Annalisa realize that they were in the end of the market meant for wealthier people. That was where they had parted with the prince and they had not thought to go down to the end where they usually purchased things. They ended up buying a few things and purchasing a similar wind chime to the one they had seen at the old man's cart. It wasn't as pretty, or as shiny, but it looked pretty similar and she knew Thomas and Sarah wouldn't mind.

Amelia quickly reminded her that they needed to get back to the other end of the market to meet up with the prince and his men in order to go back to the palace. The waited around for a few minutes, admiring all the more expensive things in the market. That was until they heard a gruff voice from behind them.

"Hey, girl," the man yelled angrily. They turned along with a few other people to see who he was talking to. "You stole that," he said as he began walking towards Annalisa.

"I did not," she said clearly offended by his accusations. "I bought it from a much nicer man at the other end of the market."

"You are a liar. You stole it from my cart, now give it back," he reached for it and she moved it from his reach.

"I did not," she repeated, "and I will not give it back."

"I said give it back," he grabbed the wind chime, but she did not let go. All the while Amelia was trying to explain to the man that they did not steal the chime from him. Luckily only a few seconds had passed before the three men the girls had came with walked up.

"What is going on here?" Gregory said as he stepped between them, prying the man's hands away from the chime that was in Annalisa's hand.

"This girl stole from me," he told him.

"I did not," she repeated, just as sternly as the old man. "I bought it from the other end of the market."

"You are a liar, and if you do not gi…,"

"Here, I'll pay for it," he offered. He just wanted things to quiet down before more people noticed him. There were already too many people staring. "How much is it?"

"Thirty pieces of gold."

"Do not pay him," she told him, putting her hand over his as he was about to hand him the money. "It isn't his."

He gave her a stern look that made her quiet down and handed the man the money. She huffed and walked over to the man's cart.

"She's stealing another one," the main exclaimed as she grabbed one of the wind chimes off of his rack.

"What are you doing?" Greg yelled at her. Both men calmed down when they saw that she had replaced the chime she had taken with the one she had already had in her hand.

"Are you insane girl, put it back," the old man yelled.

"She paid for it, she should be able to pick the one she wants," Greg told him as he quickly walked over to Annalisa.

"Let's go," he said quickly to the other three people standing behind him. He placed a hand on Annalisa's back and quickly led her through the staring crowd and out of the market.

"Would you mind telling me what was wrong with the chime you had?" he asked her through clenched teeth after they had gotten away from the crowd.

"It was not his," she told him. "If you were going to pay him for something, you might as well get something worth the coins you paid him." She knew that the chime the man was selling was more valuable than the one she had actually bought at the other end of the market. He understood her theory and that was all the confirmation he needed to know that she had not stolen the chime from the man, but he still didn't understand how she managed to cause turmoil for him.

He let out a sigh and turned to James and Alex who only shrugged their shoulders. Again he put his hand on her back preparing to lead her back to the castle.

"Don't be angry at me, " she told him, after seeing he was upset. "I did nothing wrong, and stop shoving me."

"I am not shoving you. I would just like to get back home to relax a little before dinner. Forgive me for being a little exhausted after dealing with the scene you caused today."

"Would you two knock it off already," James said. "If you do not mind, the three of us would like to have our sanity when we get back to the palace."

They both quieted down realizing that they had been arguing since they left the market.

When they got back, she and Amelia went to her room to put away the things they had bought. She then went to check on Cecily. She had started running a small fever and this made Annalisa worry. Amelia bought her a small tub of cool water and a few pieces of rags to keep the girl cool.

It was late when they heard someone coming through the door. Annalisa got up quickly from her place at Cecily's bedside and walked over to the door when she saw that it was the prince.

"How is she?" he asked.

"She has a fever," she said sounding tired. The sound of her voice made him look down into her face. He could tell that she was worried and tired. "Do you mind if I stay here with her tonight, to keep an eye on her."

He searched her face and he could tell that she was more concern about Cecily getting better than about preserving herself. "Sure," he said quietly.

"Thank you," she told him. She left him at the door and returned to Cecily's bedside. A few moments later there was another knock at the door. This time it was James and another man carrying fire wood.

"The prince thought you might need these," he said before motioning for the man to put the wood in the corner next to the small fire place. The room was much smaller than his and even Annalisa's so it wouldn't take much to warm the place. Though Annalisa was trying to keep Cecily's body temperature from spiking too high, she knew that the chilled room would not help the girl's condition.

"Thank you," she said.

James knelt next to the fire place and proceeded to start a small fire.

"Is she going to be okay?"

"Her temperature has not gone up in the last couple of hours," she told him. She looked at the man and smiled at him. She could see he was genuinely concerned.

"Well goodnight," he told her. "Let me know if you need anything else."

She nodded and he left.

"Who was that Lisa?" Cecily asked groggily.

Lisa climbed in the bed next to her, preparing to sleep for the night. "That was James Wilson," she told her with a smirk. "If you ask me, I think he likes you."

"Well no one asked you," Cecily said with a smile making her laugh. She was happy the girl was aware enough to make a joke. A few hours ago, she was sure she was on the brink of delirium. She felt guilty for being the reason that Cecily was out in the cold the night before.

"G'night Sissy."

"G'night Lise."

The next morning, Lisa got up and ate breakfast with Cecily and some of the other laborer's on the floor. She much rather enjoyed their company to the one she had been keeping with the other girls. After breakfast, Cecily took Lisa on a tour of the kitchen to show her what she did in her spare time. Cecily liked to cook and was really good at it.

"Anything you want, you can cook it," Cecily said beaming with pride. It wasn't too often that they had this vast variety of food at their fingertips. "So what do you want to cook?"

Annalisa thought for a while, before she settled on something that she knew would shut a certain big mouth prince up.

* * *

"The girl sai…," the man stopped mid sentence when he saw that the Queen had joined the prince since he had last left. "Excuse me your highness."

She smiled at the man letting him know that it was alright.

"Did you get her?" The prince asked after not seeing the person who he had sent the man to retrieve.

"I tried your majesty," the man told him. "She told me to tell you that she is busy right now and that if you wish to speak with her she is in the kitchen and if not, she will be up after she is finished her business."

After seeing how her son's brow had furrowed and how he had become slightly angered the queen decided to speak up.

"Who is this girl?"

"No one," he told her. He left the room before she had a chance to say anything else.

She had heard around the castle about the girl who had managed to keep her son on his heels since the moment she had arrived. She wasn't upset. She just thought that it was amusing, knowing her son as well as she did, to know that someone was getting the better of him after all these years of him terrorizing the people who worked in the castle.

He made his way down to the kitchen where the man had told him the girl was located. Everyone that passed could see that he was visibly upset so they did not think about standing in his way. When he got to the kitchen he saw the girl standing near the oven as she took out a tray filled with truffles.

"When I send for you," he said as he started to make long strides over to where she was, "I do not care what you are doing, you are to come immediately."

"I figured it must have not been that important since…,"

"Important or not," he yelled at her. He could see that same fear she had had the day she arrived coming back into her eyes. Her eyes darted from his as she surveyed the room then looked to the floor. He noticed all the workers staring at them. "What are you looking at?' he snapped.

They all quickly filed out of the room, except for Cecily. He looked back to her and he could see the tears welling in her eyes, but he did not care. She had upset him and she was pushing him too far.

"If it happens again, you will not be allowed to leave your room. That way you will be doing nothing of importance that will keep you from coming when I call."

She stared at him for a moment before pushing past him, but he grabbed her arm before she could leave.

"Am I clear?"

She glared at him as a tear fell down her cheek."Yes your majesty."

He loosened his grip on her and she pulled away from him before he could completely let her go and left the room. He watched the door through which she had disappeared, the girl would never learn.

"Do not be too upset with her your majesty," he heard a kind voice say. He turned around to find Cecily still there. "She only wanted you to try Aunt Margery's truffle recipe."

She left to go check on Annalisa. He looked at the tray of truffles that lay on the counter next to him. He picked one up and observed it before popping it into his mouth.

It actually was better than the ones made at the castle. He felt a little bad for the way he treated her, but he wouldn't let her know that, not yet anyway.

He made his way up to her room and knocked on the door, surprisingly she was in there with Cecily. The girl immediately stood and left the room. Annalisa just glared at him, before turning away, attempting to ignore his presence in the room. It didn't look like she had cried more than the two tears that she had shed in front of him. She looked as if she wanted to cry, but she just refused to.

"I was looking for you to ask you if you wanted to come out to play bowls with us?" he asked her.

"No thank you," she replied, not even turning around to look at him.

He took a step towards her, then decided against it, turning to leave to room.

* * *

"…and we had so much fun," Annalisa heard Mary bragging as she walked into the dinning hall.

She didn't say anything. She didn't even look at the girl as she made her way over to what had become her seat at the table. She could feel Mary glaring at her, but didn't say anything as she proceeded to eat her food.

"I bet you thought you were going to take my place didn't you?" the girl said.

Annalisa just shot her a mean glare before returning her attention back to her food.

"Well you were wrong. You are nothing but a piece of trash off of the streets. The prince would never choose you over me. After he took you, I knew it wouldn't be long before he invited me to go out with him."

Annalisa knew she wasn't going to get any piece at dinner so she decided to go and eat with Cecily on the laborers' floor. But she decided to strike back before she left.

"He invited me first," she said. "I turned him down. You were his back up."

The girl's mouth fell open and Giselle giggled as Annalisa waltzed out of the dinning hall, satisfied with herself for finally answering the loud mouth Mary. She could here the girl causing uproar as she walked down the hall. It only caused her to smile to herself. She could not wait to tell Cecily what had happened.

* * *

He stopped in front of her room and stood in thoughtful silence. He knew that she was still upset with him and opted not to go in. He decided to go to Mary's room instead. He had heard that she was upset with him and decided it would be best to try and fix that before tackling the situation with Annalisa. He walked two doors down and entered the room. The girl glared at him before turning her back to him. He smiled, knowing that this would be an easy fix.

He walked over to her and kissed her on her shoulder before he started kissing and sucking on her neck. She shrugged him off and he backed off.

"What is the matter?" the asked.

"You should know," she told him. "The little farm girl, she embarrassed me today, and you helped her."

His eyes grew wide .He had known she was upset with him, but he had not known that Annalisa had anything to do with it. He knew who Mary was talking about, but found it funny, since she too had come from a farm.

"How so?" he asked her.

"I know you asked her to go with you before you asked me," she told him. "She was bragging about it at dinner. She said that I was your second choice and she was your first. I don't know why you let that little tramp in here. What do you see in her anyway?"

Mary turned to see that a small smile had come across his face. He found it amusing that Annalisa had bragged about him asking her out to the fields. He knew it was probably just to get back at Mary, but he still did not think the girl was fond enough of him yet to use his invitation as a weapon.

"What are you smiling about?" Mary asked, obviously a little upset.

"Nothing," he said, snapping out of his day dream. He stepped closer to her and put his hands on her shoulder. "You know you come first, always have."

She smiled as he moved his hands to her neck and leaned in pressing his lips to hers. Mary had been his first concubine, a gift from his father. She had been around the longest out of all of the girls and he had grown a little fonder of her. She was also extremely good at her job.

After they had finished, he had stayed and talked to Mary for a while. Although most of their time spent talking was him trying to convince her that she had nothing to worry about when it came to Annalisa, he could not help but to stop by her room as he passed it leaving from Mary's room.

He entered the room as quietly as he could, knowing the girl was probably asleep. However, when he closed the door, it woke her and she quickly turned to look at him. He smiled at her as she quickly sat up on the bed, prepared to fight with him again.

"Did you have fun taunting Mary tonight?" he asked her.

"I don't know what you are talking about?" she lied.

"Did you or did you not tell her that she was only second best to you?" he asked her. She just stared at him, but didn't offer an answer, partly because she was still half asleep and also because she didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

"Because I find it a little weird," he continued, "that you declined my offer, but yet you found it useful to tell Mary about it.

"Had she not said anything to me, she would have not found out about it," she replied.

"If you do not want to do your job, do not discourage other girls from doing theirs. I like to keep my affairs between the girls private, so I do no…,"

"Well maybe you should tell them to do a better job of keeping them private. I have no affairs with you to keep private so I am not the one you should be talking to. I would rather not hear about your bedroom affairs with the other girls over dinner, but it is clear you have not shared this privacy rule with them yet. "

"It would be nice if you'd stop interrupting me every time I try to talk to you."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "It would be nice if you'd say something useful when you speak."

He bit down on his tongue before speaking. "Have you noticed that I am a man and you are a woman."

"Yes, I've noticed that I am a woman."

He could not help the smile that came to his face. She was messing with him. She turned away from him to hide the smile that came across her face. She was good, he thought, but he was better. He had just been holding back, trying to spare her.

"Goodnight," he told her.

"Goodnight."

"And thank you for the truffles," he said as he opened to door.

"You are welcome."

He was gone.

* * *

A/N: I've already written the next part. Any ideas on what you guys want to happen. I have some of my own, but I'd like tohear your ideas too...and please review


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Okay just to let you guys know, I am fighting through this because I don't really like Cuddy right now after last night's episode and I don't get her logic behind choosing Lucas as a stable person... :? So if I stop updating for a while just give me some time to sulk. And thanks for the ideas, a lot of them were similar to mine (i.e. going to the wedding together) but I got some good ones too that I can tie into some of mine later... so thanks for that. Here goes the next part.

* * *

"It sounds like so much fun," Amelia said as she listened to Cecily and Annalisa talk about the wedding that was to come in the next few weeks.

"You should come," Cecily told her eagerly.

She looked to Annalisa. She knew that she would not be able to attend the event unless she was invited by the bride and groom. She would then still need Annalisa's permission to leave her needs unattended to for the night. Annalisa did not know this and did not even think about it. She was not accustomed to having that type of control over what someone else did.

"Well?" she asked.

"You mean you will let me come with you?" Amelia asked.

"I have no say so in what you do," Annalisa told her.

"Yes, you do," the girl replied.

"I think you should come," Annalisa smiled at her.

"Okay then," Amelia beamed. "I will."

"You will have so much fun. Everyone's going to be there," Cecily told her "including Evan."

Annalisa blushed and could not help the smile that came to her face.

"Who is Evan?" Amelia asked after looking at both of the girls.

"No one," Annalisa tired, but Cecily told anyway.

"Evan is this boy that Annalisa has liked since she was fifteen."

"I have not," she defended.

"Maybe this time it will last between them," Cecily ignored her.

Amelia's smile fell into a look of confusion. "I do not understand. Won't the prince be angry if you entertain someone else?"

"I am not his property. I do not care if he gets angry," Annalisa got up and walked over to her bed.

"I am sorry Miss," Amelia said after seeing she had upset Annalisa. "Please do not be angry with me."

"She'll get over it," Cecily told her, earning herself a mean glare from Annalisa. "Don't worry about her."

The girls talked a little while longer before someone knocked on the door. After being granted permission to enter, a man appeared at the door to inform Annalisa that the prince wanted to see her. Not wanting to get into anymore quarrels with him, she politely followed the man back to the waiting room where the prince was. He opened the door, allowing her to enter before politely backing out of the room.

"You wanted to see me?" she asked humbly.

"Yes," he said turning from the window he had been looking out. He began walking towards her. "I wanted to know if you would like to join me at the archery fields this evening."

"I am not really in the mood to shoot."

"I do not expect you to shoot," he told her. "You can watch."

She thought about it for a while. "I can't."

"Why not? " he asked confused. It was not common for one of the girls to have plans that were more important than his without him knowing about them.

"Cecily and I have to prepare for Thomas and Sarah's wedding."

"The wedding is a few weeks away."

"I know," she told him, "but it is my brother's wedding. I have to find a dress to wear."

He did not ask, because he knew he would not understand the reasoning she would give. His mother and the other girls were the same way when it came to a special event. Apparently dresses for such events did not get invented until said events were approaching.

"Who gave you permission to go to this wedding?"

She looked up at him and her brows furrowed. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, but nothing came out. She had not thought about needing his permission to attend. She assumed that since it was her brother's wedding, it was guaranteed that she would be there.

"It is my brother's wedding…," she tried to explain quietly.

"I know, but you do not have my permission to attend."

"Surely you will not hold me to that stupid rule?"

"It is a rule for a reason. You cannot be trusted. If I let you go to that wedding you may never return."

He walked pass her. "And you are coming with me this evening." With that he left the room.

* * *

He walked to the door of the carriage as the other men walked over to take their positions in front of their targets. The driver opened the door, and she let him take her hand, but did not make eye contact with him. He saw that she was not her usual self. She seemed down, but he knew why. He prepared to walk over to assume his spot in front of his target, but heard her call to him quietly.

He walked back over to stand in front of her. She looked down at her hands as she twirled them for a little while, before looking up to meet his eyes.

"I am sorry," she started, "for the way I have been behaving. I have been rude to you and disobedient. I shouldn't have been." She was apologizing for her smart remarks and running away, not for withholding herself from him.

He looked at her and smirked. "Your apology is accepted." He turned to walk away.

"Wait," she called making him stop and turn around. She walked closer to him so the other men wouldn't hear them. She did not want anyone to hear her surrendering to him, but she desperately wanted to go to Thomas and Sarah's wedding. "Can I go to my brother's wedding?"

He knew there was a catch to her apologizing. "We've already discussed this," he started. "I said no. Had you come to your senses early you would not be in this predicament. You must learn your lesson some way."

"But I have," she tried as he turned to walk away.

"I am not convinced," he called over his shoulder.

She stood in her spot and her head hung low. She had messed up. This wedding was really important to her. After all, it was an important day for her brother. She loved him and she loved Sarah and she wanted to be there for them on their wedding day. But that didn't seem like it was going to happen. She turned her back to them, not really wanting to be there and feeling a little depressed. She looked around at where they were. It was a nice place to come on such a beautiful day, but she could not fully appreciate it. She looked around a bit more and spotted an opening that looked familiar to her. She looked behind her to see that none of the men were paying attention to her, so she slowly started to make her way towards it.

* * *

"Are you really not going to let her go to her brother's wedding?" James asked.

"No," he told him. "I will let her go, she just needs to learn a lesson."

"So you trust her?" he asked.

"Not enough to let her go on her own," he said. "That's why we are going with her."

"I've always liked weddings," Alex commented. He looked over his shoulder and spotted Annalisa off in the distance. "I think she's going to try to run away again."

"She doesn't look like she's running," James said, as they studied the girl's slow and curious stride.

"Please tell me you have had your way with her," William chimed in. "It would be embarrassing to know that we are blood and you let a woman refuse you."

"I never speak of bed room matters, William," Greg said as he slowly started to follow Annalisa.

"Yes you do," James and Alex said in unison as a mischievous smile crept to both of their faces.

He smiled knowing the two men were grinning, as he continued to make his way towards her. He quickened his pace not wanting to lose her as she entered the trees. He stayed far enough behind so she wouldn't know he was there.

She came to another opening and her eyes grew big at what she saw. It was a familiar sight, but she thought she had forgotten how to get there. It was the place her father used to take them when she was just a little girl. There was a small water fall that emptied into a small stream. There were some wild flowers and some beautiful trees as the leaves were all turning that surrounded the clearing. A smile came to her face and she walked closer to the stream. She stared at it for a while before discarding her shoes. She raised her dress slightly so it would not get wet and stepped in. She loved the way the cool water felt as it washed over her bare skin. She sat on a rock at the edge of the stream and let the water continue to run over her feet and legs. She was happy for a moment, remembering her father and the memories she shared with him there. She soon remembered that she would be missing out on a big family event and became sad again.

She slowly felt a few drops of water running down her face, and it only took her a second to realize that it wasn't water from the stream splashing in her face. All it took was the realization and the dam broke. She buried her face in her hands and continued to cry.

"I'm glad you didn't try to run again."

She stood up quickly and turned around to see the prince standing right behind her. The tears had stopped abruptly, replaced by surprise and fear.

"How did you get here?" she asked.

"I followed you," he said slowly as his brows furrowed. She was crying. He stared at her for a while and she diverted her eyes to his chest.

He slowly raised his hands to her face and with his thumb, gently brushed away the last remaining tears that had fallen before he scared her.

"You were crying," he stated the obvious. "Why?"

"It's nothing," she said raising her dress and stepping out of the stream. The bottom of her dress had already gotten wet, when she stood from the rock. She tried to walk pass him, but he grabbed her arm and turned her too him.

"No one cries for nothing," he told her. "Tell me why you were crying."

She knew he wouldn't leave her alone.

"Fine, if you must know, I was thinking about Thomas's wedding. All of my family and friends will be there and I won't. You have already made it clear that you don't care, so sharing this information with you was a waste of my time and yours."

She turned and continued to walk away, back towards the archery fields.

"You can go," he called out to her before she had gone too far.

She stopped and turned to him with a look of confusion on her face. "What?"

"You can go," he said simply.

Before he could gather what was happening, she had made her way back over to him. Her arms were wrapped around his neck and her body was pressed to his. He was sure that she hadn't meant to do that, that it was just a side effect from the hug, but it was the first thing he noticed. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"Before you thank me, I think you should know that I will be joining you."

She pulled away from the hug and looked up at him. He still had his arms around her. He smiled at the confused look on her face. "I still don't want you to wander off again."

"I guess that is fair," she said. She was just excited about being able to attend the celebration. She did not care who came with her.

He let go of her and she proceeded to put her shoes back on. They slowly made their way back to the fields. They ended up coming out of the forest a little behind the targets. He stopped her at the opening that led back to the fields.

"You need to understand that you must obey my orders from now on. If you do not, I will withdraw my promise and you will not be attending your brother's wedding," he told her.

She nodded. "I understand."

He turned to walk back to the fields, but instead saw an arrow flying towards them.

"Look out," he yelled as he pushed her up against the tree and placed himself between her and the arrow.

She was a little confused and let out a small gasp as she saw the tip of the arrow coming through the front of his shoulder, stopping beside her face.

"Oh my god," she said as she looked up to see him gritting his teeth, clearly in pain as he began to stumble backwards. She wrapped her arm around him and helped him to sit down against one of the trees, careful not to move the arrow by allowing it to hit the tree.

He looked at her face and saw her eyes grow wide as she stared at the wound. He knew he had to get the arrow out. He raised his left hand, to his right shoulder, but she grabbed his hand to stop him.

"What are you doing?" she asked him, obviously still a little shocked from what had just happened and concerned about the wound to his shoulder.

"I have to get it out," he told her.

"You can't just pull it out," she told him, prepared to argue with him.

"Well it can't stay there." She only stared at him with a concerned look. "Do you have a better idea?"

She looked at him before turning her head away. Indicating she did not want to see him do it. He realized that he couldn't pull it out himself. After examining it, he decided that he wanted to pull it out from the back. The tail of the arrow was wider than the head, and the head had already gone through anyway.

"I need your help," he told her. She turned quickly and looked at him as if he was mad. "I need you to grab it from the back and pull it out."

"Why can't you do it yourself?"

"Because I cannot reach it from the back," he told her.

"Maybe we should wait…,"

"No," he told her. They could wait, but he wanted to get his clothes off and see the damage for himself.

"You can do it," he told her, as he leaned up slightly off of the tree to give her better access to the arrow.

"I don't want to hurt you," she told him as tears started to fill her eyes.

"You are not hurting me, you are helping," he told her. "The stupid imbecile who shot this arrow is the one that hurt me."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes," he told her. "Please, just pull it out." He still sensed her hesitance. "Come on, I'll count you through it."

She nodded, mostly to reassure herself and placed her hands on the arrow.

"One…two…three," she pulled and he bit down on his lip until he tasted his own blood. He did not want to scream out because he did not want her to stop pulling the arrow because that would hurt more. He also didn't want to let on to how much it was hurting him because she would think that she was hurting him, but he could not help it.

* * *

"Did you hit any of them?" James asked.

"I don't know," Willam replied.

The three men had been quiet since they had seen the arrow go astray and towards their friends.

"AAGGHHHHH!!" The heard a gruesome, rugged yell come from the direction in which the arrow had gone.

All three of them started running towards them at the same time.

"Why did you shoot your arrow over there?" Alex asked. They had not been standing behind the targets, so there was no reason for William to even aim that way.

"It was an accident," William said. "I did not mean to hit either of them."

It was true. He had not meant to hit them, just to surprise them and mess with them. James still didn't think the man felt as remorseful as he should have as he looked at him as they continued running towards the wounded prince.

"I'm so sorry," she said laying the freed arrow on the ground.

"It's okay," he said as he managed to ease his right arm out of his jacket, nursing it with his left hand the whole time. They could see the blood starting to poor through now onto his white shirt.

"We have to stop the bleeding," she told him getting a little panicked. Quickly she thought and grabbed the bottom of her dress. She started to tear some of the fabric off. He sat there staring at the blood that was gushing out of the hole in his shoulder.

She tied one piece of the cloth she had torn above the wound and another piece on it. She continued to tear pieces and tied them around the wound to add more pressure. She looked up and saw the four men making their way quickly over to them. They had no more tools than she had and they needed something more to stop the bleeding. Then she remembered the packing beads. She stood quickly and began surveying the trees around them.

"It's the tree to your left," he told her after seeing her wonder for a few seconds.

She turned quickly and stared at him for a few seconds. "How do you…"

"Because I know," he told her. "Now are you going to get them or are you going to let me bleed to death. You can, but then William will be your king and I think you would prefer me over him."

His words made her remember the task at hand. She moved over to the tree to her left and began gathering the beads in her dress.

"Are you okay?" James asked as they finally reached them.

"Yes, I've never been better," Greg said bitterly. "I'd like to know which one of you has bad enough eye sight to mistake me for a target."

James and Alex looked at William. "It was an accident," he said.

Greg looked at him and rolled his eyes. He didn't know if to believe him or not. It was no secret that they didn't like each other and he knew that he had shot it towards them on purpose. If he had not moved in front of Annalisa then the arrow may have grazed her instead. He also knew that it wouldn't have bothered William at all if the arrow would have gone straight through his heart. He wanted the throne, and he would do anything to get it.

"Come on, we have to get you back to the castle," James told him as he and Alex prepared to help him stand.

"I'll go ahead and get the doctor," William told him. The man started back towards his horse.

Alex, James and the driver, helped Gregory back to the carriage and Annalisa followed with her dress full of the packing beads. They got him to the carriage and laid him down on one side. Annalisa knelt next to him in the small space between the seats. James and Alex followed alongside the carriage as the driver tried to go as fast as he could without causing more injury to the injured passenger in the back.

Annalisa began wetting the beads with the water from the canteens she had gotten from James and Alex. She removed the cloth that was over the wound and began filling it with beads.

"How did you know?" he asked as sweat began to gather on his brow. He was referring to the beads.

She looked at him quickly before refocusing on the task at hand. "My father practiced medicine." It was silent for a while. "How did you know which beads to use?" she countered.

"I studied medicine," he said and she looked up at him. He smiled. "I guess all of that education came to be useful after all, even without the manners."

She smiled, mostly to herself and re focused her attention back on packing the wound as she tried to hide the blush that had risen in her cheeks.

A while later they had made it back to the castle. She felt that the driver could have gone faster as his temperature had already started to rise. Of course the doctor was not there yet as William had taken his own sweet time getting back and summoning the man. Alex and James bought him to his room and Annalisa followed. She asked the servant for some cool water and some rags. She would use them to try and maintain his temperature until the doctor arrived. Not that he could do much more than that himself.

* * *

"How is he?" she asked grabbing James's arm as he exited the room. She had been trying to find out the prince's condition ever since she had been ushered out of the room when the doctor arrived. Most of the people she asked, however, just looked at her as if she was crazy and just kept saying the doctor was with him. She felt a little guilty. If he had not been trying to shield her he would have not been injured.

"He will be fine," he reassured her. "As of now anyway." They both knew that with any type of injury things could turn for the worst at any moment. "As long as we can maintain his temperature and his wound closes as expected, he should be fine."

She nodded and he walked away to go get ready for bed. She stood outside of the door a little longer before deciding to take a bath and do the same. It was a little hard for her to fall asleep, but she slowly drifted off.

Back in the prince's room, things were not as peaceful.

"But the doctor is here. He can take care of…,"

"I know what he is capable of," he spat at his father's right hand man, Peter. The man had been assigned by his mother and father to keep a close eye on him throughout the night, and to alert them if things took a turn for the worst. "I want the girl. Go get the girl," he yelled at the guard standing by the door.

"Your majesty, your temperature is quite high, perhaps you…,"

"I know what I am saying Peter. I want the girl."

"But he is the best doctor around," the man argued back.

"I do not doubt his capabilities," he said, "but if it had not been for the girl, I would have bled to death long before he ever arrived here. She was here before he was and I want her back now. He can sleep in the guest chambers. I'll call him if I need him." He turned to the guard, "Now go get the girl."

Peter nodded to the guard at the door and he left.

* * *

A/N: Okay, time to review. Oh and don't worry, this won't be a repeat. He won't let her go because she saved his life. If anything, he is going to want her around even more now.


	9. Chapter 9

She heard a loud knock on her door that disoriented her as she woke. The girl did not wait for an answer and rushed in.

"Miss, it's the prince," she said.

Her eyes grew wide and she became more alert. "Is he okay?"

"He is fine," Amelia quickly corrected her mistake. She could tell that she had startled the girl with her vague comment. "He is requesting your presence at his bed side."

Her brows furrowed, and Amelia continued. "He has dismissed the doctor for the night, but he wants you to stay with him. "

This did not help her confusion. Amelia grabbed her robe off of the chair and walked over to her. "Well he is waiting," Amelia said after seeing she was not rising from her spot on the bed. She held the robe out and Annalisa slowly stood to her feet and slipped it on. She wrapped it tightly around her and she and Amelia made their way through the corridors and to his room. Amelia knocked and the guard opened the door allowing Annalisa to enter. She looked around the room hesitantly as she did. She had been there earlier, but was preoccupied with trying to stabilize his temperature. Now that he was fine for the time being she could fully appreciate the room. It was huge with a huge bed in the middle of it. The furniture was huge and the wall paintings were magnificent.

"Well its about time you got here," he said making her eyes quickly go to him. "I thought you had taken this opportunity of me being disabled to run again."

She looked at him thoughtfully. The thought had not crossed her mind, probably because she was feeling a little guilty and grateful at the same time for him shielding her from the arrow.

"You called for me?" she asked.

"Yes," he said before his eyes diverted to the three men standing in the corner. "You can leave now."

She heard the men moving around behind her, but was a little startled when she felt one of them grab her arm. She turned to face him.

"If anything changes with him, you are to alert the guard," Peter told her in a harsh tone. "I do not know why he wants you here, but he does. You are to keep an eye on him."

She nodded and watched as the man left the room, closing the door behind him. She turned her attention back to the prince and stared at him.

He noticed the silence and looked over at her. "Well are you going to just stand their or are you going to try and get some sleep."

"You invited me here to sleep?" she questioned.

"Yeah," he said. "That and keep me from boiling inside of my own skin."

At the mention of his temperature, she made her way over to the bed and placed a hand on his forehead. He was hot and the rims of his eyes were red. He was sweating and had soaked through the shirt he had on.

Her face frowned in dispraise at the job that had been done in taking care of him. "If the hole in your shoulder does not kill you, you are sure to catch your death in this wet shirt." She got up and began searching around the room for a clean shirt. The fire place was going, and the room was warm but it still was not a good idea for him to keep the shirt on.

She found a clean shirt like the one he had on and walked back over to the bed. "Sit up," she demanded as she sat on the edge of the bed.

He just stared at her. It was hard for him to set up. Not only could he not put any weight on his shoulder, he was a little weak from the fever.

"You called me here to take care of you," she told him, knowing what he was thinking. "If you do not wish to receive my help let me know and I can go back to my quarters."

He stared at her a little while longer before taking a deep breath. He slowly began adjusting himself to an upright position. She saw the grimacing he was doing from the pain and the hard time he was having. She placed both her arms under his arm pits and helped him support his upper body as much as she could, which she ended up just balancing him more than helping him set up, as he scooted back to support himself on the headboard. She realized how close this action had bought them as he slowly leaned against the headboard. There faces were only centimeters apart. His eyes darted from hers to her lips then back again. She slowly began backing away from him. She put her hands on the bottom of the shirt and began to pull it upward. She got it over his uninjured shoulder. She took more care with his right and after a long slow process with a lot of grunting and wincing from him, she managed to free the arm of the material. She saw that the doctor had rebandaged the arm. She ran her fingers over the wrapping, examining it. She could not help but to notice the solid muscles of his upper body. From what she could see of the uninjured side, the muscles in his arm were well defined. And she now understood why she had slept so peacefully on his chest the night she had run away.

He did not notice her checking him out and only thought she was checking the bandage. He was too tired and hurting to much to notice much of anything else.

"If the wrappings meet your approval, can I get dressed now? I don't think I can sit up much longer."

She quickly grabbed the shirt that lay next to her and began putting it over his head. After maneuvering around the injured shoulder, she helped him to lay back down on the bed. She stood from the bed and went over to the chair on the other side of the room. She sat down and tried to get comfortable so she could go back to sleep. He only watched her in her failed quest to get comfortable enough to fall asleep.

"The bed is big enough for the two of us," he told her.

She opened her eyes and looked at him skeptically. She was awfully tired and knew she wouldn't get much sleep on the chair.

He noticed her hesitance. "I cannot do anything to you," he reassured her. "I can barely lift myself into a sitting position. You have the upper hand this time."

She stared at him a little longer, debating the offer in her head. It was true, he could barely move without being in pain. If he did try anything, she knew just where to attack to hurt him. Slowly she rose from the chair. She took the robe off and slowly made her way over to the bed. Reluctantly she pulled back the covers and slid under them. The bed was huge and she was completely on the edge.

"You do know that you can come closer," he told her. "You are not in any danger of touching me, of course I don't think you mind that much."

She didn't say anything and scooted a little closer to the center of the bed. She turned her back to him and closed her eyes.

"Are you sleeping?" he questioned.

"I am trying," she said.

"Well that is no fun," he said. "One of the reasons I invited you here is to keep me company. You won't be good company if you are asleep."

"What do you want me to do?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know," he said. "I guess talking would do fine since I am limited in my mobile abilities."

She sighed before turning to face him. "What do you want me to say?"

"Anything you feel like saying."

She laid in thoughtful silence for a little while. "That opening we went to today," she started. "I used to go there with my father when I was little…"

* * *

"Good morning ol…," William stopped when he saw the two people in bed. He had already woken them and Greg just opened his eyes wondering why William was in his bedroom so early in the morning and sounding so happy to see him. Annalisa just pulled the covers up to her neck trying not to expose her indecency to yet another man. It was already enough that Greg would always barge into 'her room at night when she had on nothing but her night gown. She had gotten used to him doing it and after all, there was nothing she could do to stop him. A cheesy smirk grew across William's face.

"Well, now," he started, "I guess it took for you to be on your death bed to make you do what you should have done a long time ago."

Annalisa glared at him and Greg's brow furrowed. He was becoming annoyed, having been abruptly wakened from his sleep by the man who was the cause of the pain running through his arm.

"What do you want?" he asked rudely.

"Well I just came to check on you, but I see you are well," he turned to Annalisa and she rolled her eyes at him before looking away from him. She whipped her head back around when she heard the man's next comment though.

"Tell me, was she worth the wait?"

"I beg your pardon," she said obviously offended.

"Have you not any manners?" William started obviously not happy about the girl's outburst. "Don't you know better than to interrupt when the prince and I are talking?" He then turned to Greg. "And you brought her into your bedroom. I would think you would have taught her some manners before you did such a thing. Your other girls are better behaved than her and they have not…,"

"The other girls do not know how to pack a wound and maintain a fever," he told William coldly. "Now if there is something in particular you came in here to say, I suggest you say it and leave."

"I just came to check on you and see how you are doing," he said with an obviously fake smile.

"I am not dying," Greg responded through gritted teeth. He knew the man didn't want to see how he was doing, he wanted to see if his condition had taken a turn for the worse throughout the night.

After seeing William's smile falter a bit and hearing the tone in Greg's voice, Lisa started to look between the two men. They were both glaring at each other with hate in their eyes, each determined to get the better of the other and not succumb to the others will to undo him.

William's glare turned to her and she quickly looked away, not wanting to have any part of the anger between them directed at her. She subconsciously moved a little closer to Greg as she felt the man's glare linger on her. This did not escape him. He glanced at her and saw that she was starting to squirm uncomfortably under the man's glare.

"Well then," William started lowly, "I guess I'll be going." With that, he turned and left the room. Peter was the next to enter.

"You let her sleep in your bed?" The man asked a little anger and surprise showing in his voice. Gregory rolled his eyes.

"Where else was she supposed to sleep Peter?"

"Well I do not know, but not in your bed."

"Is there something you wanted?"

"Your mother asked me to check on you. Do you need the doctor to come in?"

"No," he said. "And tell her I am fine."

"I know tha..,"

"Goodbye Peter," he said cutting the man off.

The man stood silently for a few second, exchanging a glance with the girl before he left. Greg lay back down with a grunt. He had propped himself up on his good arm and even that made his injured shoulder hurt. Annalisa sat up, since she didn't have to hide under the covers anymore and put her hand on his forehead. He was still running a fever. She got out of bed and went over to the drawer where she had gotten the shirt from the night before and pulled out another one. She helped him change into it before re soaking the rags that had been placed on him to keep the fever down in the chilled water in the tub. She then excused herself to go get dressed for the day. She promised him that she would come back later and check on him.

* * *

"You spent the night in the prince's quarters?" Amelia squealed as Annalisa entered her bedroom. She turned around not having noticed that someone else was in the room. Amelia had a huge smile on her face and Cecily sat with a curious smirk.

"Yeah, I had to make sur…,"

"None of the girls have ever been inside of his bedroom let alone spent the night in there with him," Amelia informed her.

Annalisa's eyes furrowed at the reaction the two other girls were giving her. She had only made sure that he didn't die throughout the night from his injury. It wasn't like he asked her there so they could spend a romantic evening together. Amelia's face suddenly turned to a look of horror.

"Oh, this could be bad," Cecily and Annalisa looked at her, with worried expressions of their own.

"What do you mean?" Cecily asked.

"Well, the king and queen might not like this," she explained. "None of the concubines are supposed to enter his bedroom. It is only a sanctuary he is to share with his future bride, the future queen of England."

Annalisa looked a little scared for a little while, but as she thought about it, became more annoyed at the acclamation. The rules these people had. It was okay for the king to distribute himself to almost any girl he saw fit, but he had to preserve a room to honor his wife to be. She thought that was more than a little contradicting.

"Well he asked me to stay with him," she said. "I didn't want to. I would have been perfectly fine in here, and even better at home."

"But miss, this is your home," Amelia informed her.

Annalisa's eyes narrowed and Cecily could tell she was biting down on her tongue to keep from being rude to the girl. Without saying a word, she walked over to the armoire and began to search through the clothes for her dress for the day. Cecily smiled and Amelia just looked at her confused as to why the girl had gotten so upset so quickly.

Annalisa got dressed and went to breakfast with Cecily, Amelia, and the rest of the servants. She spent the rest of the morning with the girls and went to go and check on the prince after lunch. That would not be as easy as she thought it would be.

"May I see the prince," she asked the guard at the door.

"I'm sorry miss, but no one is allowed in to see the prince unless specified by the king or the queen."

"But I just want to check on him and see if he is okay."

"I am sorry," the man replied.

"Well how is he?"

"I am not able to discuss the prince's condition with servants."

She was about to open her mouth to protest, but she remembered that she was labeled as a servant, the prince's own special type of servant. She stared at the man, wondering what she could possibly say to make him give her at least a little bit of information. She didn't have to wait long, because soon James exited the room. It seemed that he would have to be the one she was to rely on for updates.

"How is he?" she asked.

He opened his mouth to say something, but decided not to with the guard standing there. He took her by her arm and led her around the corner so the guard or no one else could hear.

"Is something wrong with him?" she asked growing a little worried from the look on James's face.

"He is fine," he answered sounding a little annoyed. Her brows furrowed when she noticed that annoyance seemed to be directed towards her. "But I think it would be best if you would stay clear of this part of the palace and the prince for a while."

"Why?" she asked. She never thought that she'd be asking someone why she couldn't get closer to the prince, but she was genuinely worried about him. She was also asking why because she was also curious about the way he was acting towards her.

"You slept in his bed," he said.

"He asked me to."

The man let out a frustrated sigh. "The king and queen are not too pleased about it. Hopefully they can keep this from the king of Spain. He will not want his daughter lying in a bed that has been slept in by a concubine."

A hurt expression came over her face. He had always seemed like a nice respectful man, not a man to treat people with as much or as little respect as their class status required. He did not miss this expression and instantly felt bad about speaking to her in such a harsh tone.

"Look," he started in a softer tone, "just stay low for a while. In a few days, everyone will have forgotten about this."

She nodded before looking down at the floor. He side stepped her and continued on his way down the hall. She could not believe what was happening. She was being targeted and outcast for only doing what the prince had requested of her. She realized she wasn't going to get any more information on the prince's condition and decided to follow James's advice. She spent the rest of the week hiding out in her bedroom and on the laborers' floor, trying to avoid the king, queen, and anyone else that she figured it would be bad for her to run into. Her luck finally came to an end when she was summoned by the king.

"I do not know what he wants," Amelia said as she walked down the corridor with the girl. "Just try to stay quiet and comply with everything he says when he gives you permission to speak."

Annalisa's heart was beating so loudly, she barely heard the girl, but agreed that her idea was the best plan of action.

"Good luck," Amelia bid her before the guard opened the door allowing her to enter the room where the king waited for her.

He just stared at her and she curtsied and managed a shaky 'your majesty'. He continued to stare at her. She wanted to speak to speed up the progress of whatever was about to happen, but decided against it. He got up and slowly walked over to her. Her eyes immediately darted to the floor.

"So you are the girl that spent the night in my son's bedroom?" he said with a thunderous voice.

"Yes, yes your majesty," she stuttered.

"Are you aware that what you did was unacceptable and you could be punished for it?"

"No, your majesty," she answered quickly. "I did not know. I was just following the prince's orders. I did not want to disobey him. I was brought here to serve him."

The man stood silent as he contemplated. It was true. The girl had been in a conflicting situation.

"Well understand this girl, you are never to go near my son's bedroom again. If he asks you to you have strict orders from me to refuse his orders. If he has a problem with that tell him to come and take it up with me. You are to go nowhere near there, do you understand?" he yelled.

She jumped slightly before answering, "Yes your majesty."

"He is to be married to the princess of Spain and I will not have the alliance between the countries be put in jeopardy by some little tramp off of the streets. You are his whore and you are to stay in your place for the rest of your days at the palace or you will be thrown out and you will be forced to fend for yourself. Is that understood?"

"Yes, your majesty," she said quickly as a few tears fell from her eyes. She did not want to cry in front of him, but his tone and words were so harsh she could not help it.

"Good," he said. "Now get out of my presence."

She turned and quickly walked towards the door. The guard opened the door for her and she exited. When she turned the corner, Amelia was there, but the girl only followed and did not say anything as she saw the tears rolling down Annalisa's face. They made it back to her room and were later joined by Cecily. The three girls stayed there the rest of the day since Annalisa wasn't in the mood to run into anyone else that was going to degrade her or yell at her. She was sure the news had made its way around the palace and she was a little embarrassed also. She wanted to avoid the looks and whispers and Amelia and Cecily offered to keep her company.

* * *

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update guys, life's going crazy again. I have a good idea about here I want this story to go long term (Actually I have a lot of ideas and haven't chosen one yet), but I am looking for some short term ideas. I seem to be drawing a blank, so if you guys have any interesting little filler, short term ideas it would be good if you could share them with me (it might help me write faster too). I would appreciate it. And don't forget to review :)!!


	10. Chapter 10

She jumped up quickly when she heard the banging that was coming from her bedroom door. She didn't really know what was going on as she was still more than half sleep. She just followed the sound of the banging. It was the middle of the night, but she didn't even seem to realize that. What she saw when she opened her door made her wake up a little more.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as he hobbled pass her and into her bedroom. "Why are you out of bed?"

"Shut the door," he told her, but he ended up doing it for her.

"You haven't answered my questions."

"I know," he told her, as he walked over to her bed. He made a pain filled face as he eased himself down.

She took in the sight of him, deciding not to ask him anymore questions since he looked as if he was out of breath. He wasn't as pale as he was the last time she saw him, and the fact that he had walked from one end of the palace to the other seemingly on his own, lead her to think that the water on his brow was more from the walking and not the fever. She hadn't seen him in weeks, and had managed to stay away from his bedroom and away from any other place she thought he would be just to stay out of trouble. But avoiding him didn't seem to work so well when he was well enough to seek her out.

"Are you mad?" she asked after he had seemingly caught his breath. "You have a fever. You could have fainted."

"Men don't faint."

"Oh well forgive me," she said sarcastically before correcting herself. "You could have died."

"I'm fine," he said. "I'm better."

"You don't look like you're better." She walked over to him and placed her hand on his forehead. He was warm, but not nearly as hot as he was the night she spent in his bedroom.

"Now you want to make sure I'm okay," he said sarcastically.

"What are you talking about?"

"I told you to come back, you didn't," he told her avoiding eye contact. "It's a good thing you didn't try to run. I thought you were going to. That's why I had Peter watching you."

"You had someone watching me?" she asked, clearly offended that someone was spying on her and she had no knowledge about it.

"You haven't answered my question," he said.

"Well if you had someone spying on me you should already know why I didn't return."

He knew why. His father had already yelled at him about it.

"I told you to come back," he told her. "You do not listen to my father. You are mine."

"I am not some object to be had. I do not belong to you or anyone else. I am my own person."

"Yet, you did what my father told you to do," he told her.

She opened her mouth to speak, but had no words. She made eye contact with him and he was looking at her expectantly, waiting for her to say something. She had nothing to say, so she turned away.

"Next time I tell you to do something, you listen to me, not my father. I had to sit in there for the last couple of weeks and listen to the idiots babble about nothing."

She turned around quickly and he looked up to see a smirk on her face. "Are you implying that you missed my company?"

He looked away from her breaking eye contact. "No," he lied. "I am saying that you are to do as I say from now on."

The smile disappeared from her face and she opened her mouth to say something. Before she could get the words out, there was a knock at the door. She rolled her eyes him and walked over to the door. She was a little surprised at the girl standing on the other side.

"What do you want?" she asked a little harshly.

"Not you," the girl replied in the same tone as she tried to push pass her. Lisa stood her ground and held her hand on the door not letting the girl into her room. She may have had to share everything else with her, but her room was not one of them.

"Well why did you knock on _my_ door?"

"I want to see the prince, now move?" She tried to push past her again, but Annalisa did not budge. She had been spying and had seen when the prince entered her room. She wanted to know why he had gone to the new girl she could not stand and not her.

The girl gave her a harsh glare. "If you do not move, I will move you myself."

"I would love to see you try," Annalisa spat back just as coldly.

She felt the door slipping from her hand as a warm body approached her from behind.

"Mary," he said just as surprised to see her , "what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," she said glaring at Annalisa. "You finally get well and _this_ is what you run to."

"Well I think you made a good choice," Annalisa said talking to the prince but maintaining her staring match with Mary. She didn't really care who he went too, but she was not about to stand there and be insulted by what she had deemed the troll without retaliating, "it is better than running to _that_."

He saw Mary's eyes narrow and saw Annalisa go into a more defensive stance. He put his good arm around her and ushered her back into the room behind him as he stepped between the girls.

"I am not completely better, I…,"

"If you want to talk to her you can go to her room, frankly I would rather my things not be tainted by such filth," Lisa said from behind the door.

Mary took a step forward and he put his had out to stop her as he turned and shot Annalisa a glare that silenced her for the time being. She only let out a 'hmph' as she turned to go and set on her bed.

"I came here so she could take care of me," he said as he smiled at Mary. "That's all."

She could not help but to smile back at his charming smile. "Well you should have come to me," she said taking a step forward as she started to play with the fabric of his shirt, "I could have taken care of you."

He smiled down at her and put a hand around her waist pulling her closer to him. Annalisa just watched as he bent a little and placed a kiss on her lips. She really wished that they would take their business somewhere else. When they broke the kiss, Mary stared up at him and smiled as if under some spell. She then looked over at Annalisa with a look that said 'ha'. This made the prince look at her and she rolled her eyes at the both of them, before turning to get under the covers.

"You can take care of me later," he said. That did it.

"If you two do not mine, I would like to get some sleep, and since I am not allowed anywhere near your room and I would not dare sleep on anything you've touched," she said making the smile fall from Mary's face, "we cannot trade. Since I am forced to be here, this is the only place that I have to sleep, so if you could please excuse yourself, I would much appreciate it. "

This only brought a smile to Greg's face. He turned back to Mary. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"I honestly don't know what you see in her," Mary said. He leaned down and placed another kiss on her lips. She smiled at him once more before turning to go back to her room.

He closed the door and turned to see Annalisa just about to lie down again. "You can't go to sleep," he said as he walked over to the bed. "You have to check my shoulder."

"Check it yourself," she said as she turned her back to him. "Mary's room is right next door. Have her check it for you."

He looked at her and smiled. "You are jealous."

"I am not," she said as she turned back to him and sat up in the bed a little.

"Then why don't you want to help me? You had no problem with helping me before Mary came here."

"I never said that I would help you," she told him.

"So you could help me in the woods, but you cannot help me now? I thought a person who practiced medicine was supposed to help a person in need."

"I am not a real doctor," she told him. "I only helped my father."

"You knew enough to help me then, surely you can help me now. I'm assuming you're father taught you that much about the profession."

They stared at each other for a moment. She sat up straighter in the bed and put her hands at the bottom of his shirt. She began to raise it up and looked up at him when he gave no help.

"I never thought that it would be you trying to get me out of my clothes," he smirked at her.

"If you are going to be immature about it, do it yourself," she said as she was about to turn away from him again.

He grabbed her arm. "I'm sorry," he said smiling at her. He started to take his shirt off but he could only get it so far off. She just looked at him. "I can use some help."

She glared at him before kneeling in the bed and reaching out to help him take off his shirt. When they had successfully gotten it off, he leaned back on the headboard as she began to unwrap the bandage. She had to focus really hard not to stare at the way his muscles flexed in his arms and chest as he tensed up from the pain that shot through his arm as she unwrapped the bandage.

She ran her hand over the scar that was starting to form. The hole was completely closed and the only purposed the bandaged served was to make sure he didn't over use the arm or forget and move it the wrong way until if fully healed. She began to push on it a little bit to feel how the inside was healing. It was a little hard, but it would soften again once it healed all the way. He flinched.

"Sorry," she said after glancing at the painful look on his face. She pulled her hand away and began to re wrap the bandage. "Everything seems fine. I'd say give it a few more weeks until you're able to use it fully again. "

She grabbed the shirt and helped him to put it on. He got up off of the bed and she crawled under the covers and turned her back to the door, thinking he was about to leave. He only added a couple of more logs to the fire place to keep it burning throughout the night before making his way back over to her bed.

She didn't know that he wasn't leaving until she felt him climbing into the bed behind her. He didn't even ask her to push over. He just used his body to push hers over. She turned to face him with an unbelievable look on her face.

"Your bed is bigger and more comfortable than mine why are you sleeping in here?"

"As you said, I almost killed myself getting here. I wouldn't want to take that chance again," he said. "You really think my bed is comfortable?"

She let out a frustrated sigh before turning her back to him and closing her eyes. She felt him slide closer to her and welcomed the warmth since she was forced to sleep so closely to the wall and the window again. It was a little warmer since they actually had a fire now, but the warmth coming from his body helped her to stay warm also. She was wakened from her thoughts when she felt his lips brush up against her neck. She quickly turned to face him.

"Do not put your lips on me after you've kissed that girl," she said.

He looked at her a little shock before he burst into laughter. This only made her madder. "You are infuriating."

"Could I put my lips on you if I had not ki…,"

"No," she said answering his question before he could get it out.

He smiled at her. "Why don't you like Mary?"

"Because she doesn't like me," she retorted.

He stared at her for a moment. There faces were only inches apart, due to the fact that he had placed his arm around her pulling her closer. She didn't seem to notice, nor did she seem to mind.

"Why do you care if I kiss her?" he spoke softly.

"I do not care," she said quietly, finally realizing how close they were to each other.

"I kissed you," he told her. Her brows furrowed slightly as she began to scan his features, wondering what he was talking about. She had been there. She had pushed him away when he did. "In your sleep," he continued. "You liked it."

"I did not," she repeated again.

He smiled and moved his face a little closer to hers, "How do you know? You were asleep."

She did not answer. Not only did she not have a good answer, she was becoming a little distracted as his face got even closer to hers. Her lips parted a little in anticipation. She felt his warm breath brush across her lips and looked up into his cool blue orbs. It wasn't until she felt his lips brush softly against hers before she let out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding and turned her head slightly causing him to kiss her on the corner of her mouth. He pulled away and she buried her face into his chest, a little embarrassed by what she had almost let happened.

He laughed to himself and only pulled her closer. She nuzzled into his neck and they laid in silence until he felt her breathing slow. He looked down to see she was indeed asleep. He brought his lips to hers and kissed her softly. As predicted she let out a sigh causing him to smile. He fell asleep within minutes.

* * *

"That girl is trouble."

The prince laughed at his father. "How can she be trouble, she is only girl. Not some six headed monster coming out of the tar pits of hell."

"Do you think that the king of Spain would like the fact that you had one of your concubines lying in the same bed his daughter is to lie in once you wed?"

"I don't know," he said in mock thoughtfulness. "I haven't asked him."

His mother smirked at what she had accepted to be her son's dismissal of everything he didn't care about or agree with. She missed the family breakfasts and was glad that he was well enough now to join them.

"First you get your arm almost taken off for her and the…,"

"Well what did you want me to do," he asked becoming a little annoyed with his father, "let her head get taken off. Besides it's not her fault. You should be made at William. He's the idiot that aimed the arrow at us."

"It does not matter who…,"

"I got shot with an arrow, but it does not matter who shot the arrow? So that makes the person who almost got shot by the arrow responsible for shooting me with the arrow? I 'm sorry, I don't understand your reasoning father."

"Gregory," his mother intervened before the argument could get too heated, "maybe you should go and take a walk in the courtyard. It's a beautiful morning and I think some fresh air will do you some good."

She placed her hand on her husband's arm to stop him from saying anything to further the argument.

"I think you are right mother," he said glaring at his father as he rose out of his chair. He stopped at her side to place a kiss on her cheek before exiting the room.

He decided not to go to the courtyard however and decided to go pay Annalisa a visit instead. It was his first day actually being able to get around the castle like he used to and he thought he'd go and mess with her to try and transfer some of his anger to her. He smiled to himself when he thought about how easy it was for him to get her all riled up. He heard giggling as he approached her door, but figured it was only Amelia and Cecily. They'd leave once they saw it was him. He knocked on the door, and the giggling ceased. The door began to open slowly and there stood the young girl who he remembered to be Annalisa's younger sister. A bright smile spread across her face, and he could not help but to smile back. She reminded him of a little girl he once knew that would be about her age now.

"Hello," she said, opening the door wider for him to come in. He was shocked however to find that the girl's room was actually full with other people. His face fell.

Annalisa smiled when she saw him, a little surprised to see him up and about. "Hi," she said walking over to him as the rest of the people in the room ignored them and went back to what they were doing. "Your shoulder? Does it still hurt?" she questioned as she felt his shoulder to see if the bandaged had been removed. She was surprised when she found that it had been. She did not seem to notice the glare that she recieved from Alice upon touching him like she had.

"A little," he replied. "Who are all of these people?"

"It's not like you haven't met them before."

He realized that he knew most of the women, well all of them. There was the girl's maid, her cousin that stayed at the castle with her, her sister, her mother, her other cousin, and the girl that was marrying her brother. They were all fawning over the bride to be as she modeled her wedding dress for them.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Annalisa said after seeing him staring at the women. "The queen allowed my mother some material to make the dress for her."

He still didn't say anything. He had wondered how they had come to afford such a beautiful dress. He could tell it was expensive.

"It's nice to know that at least one member of the royal family has some kindness towards others," she said. This made him look at her and he could see a faint smile form on her face as he did, but she did not look at him.

"Lisa, you can try yours on next," her mother said. She was about to walk away, but he grabbed her by her arm. She turned to face him.

"How did you know that I'd be well enough for you to go to the wedding?"

"I did not," she said seriously. "Either you would be well enough to go, or if you were not then you couldn't really stop me could you?"

She turned to walk towards her mother and his eyes furrowed at her last comment. Maybe his father was right. Maybe this girl was trouble, but he liked her kind of trouble he thought as he turned to leave the room and the women to their devices.

* * *

"I got dressed in twenty minutes," he said as he sat on her bed. "How is it that you're not ready yet? To say that you were so upset about not being able to attending this wedding you sure aren't making any effort to make it there on time."

"Well this would have gone much faster if you had not sat and watched me get dressed," she rolled her eyes at him. She practically had to dress over her towel to keep him from seeing anything.

A smile came to his face as he remembered how she had awkwardly gotten dressed, trying to cover herself up as he sat and watched her. She only rolled her eyes at him again. She finally got dressed and stood in front of him as he lay on the bed.

"Well I'm ready now so let's go," she told him. He sat up on the bed ready to argue back with her, but was stunned speechless when he saw how beautiful she looked in the dress her mother had made for her. People would think she was the bride. He wondered how much more beautiful she would look if she was in fact the bride, if it were even possible. Her brows furrowed and she wondered why he had suddenly become so quiet. She then noticed the way he was staring at her and began to blush as she turned away.

"Excuse me miss," Amelia said sticking her head in the room, "I don't mean to intrude, but Cecily said to tell you that if you don't come now, we will surely be late for the ceremony. She nodded and followed Amelia out of the door. He followed close behind her still a little awestruck by her beauty. They head out to the carriage that James and Cecily had been patiently waiting in.

"Please do not embarrass me," she said as they walked out of the palace doors.

"Me embarrass you?" he asked a little surprised. "I am royalty."

"Exactly," was her only reply.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the long wait but things got a little hectic for a while. I have another test coming up in a little bit so updates still might be a little scarce, but then again they might not. Anything anybody want to see happen at the wedding other than the Prince getting a little Housian after seeing the way Annalisa and Evan interact? Sorry I couldn't use everyone's suggestions, but a lot of them conflicted with each other. And sorry about the Halloween party not happening. It's just that for the prince to attend, he would have had to get better in like two weeks and that would have been too quick I think. Also the princess of Spain will not be attending the Winter Ball, I decided to make it the spring ball instead or some other random event, it depends on how my timeline for this goes, and the filler ideas I come up with . Don't forget to review, your reviews make me feel guilty about waiting too long to update, especially the long reviews, I like those :)

And also somethings to think about that I've decided to do in the next few chapters. How will Annalisa and the Prince spend the New Year's Holiday (it's pretty close to Christmas in this chapter)? Will Annalisa's contact with Evan make her lose the one thing she has been trying not to let the prince take from her? Are you guys still reading or is my life to hectic to keep an audience anymore? Find out on the next few episodes on Anomilee's sad life of school that keeps her from doing things that actually bring her enjoyment... like sleeping.


	11. Chapter 11

"Excuse me," Annalisa said as she made her way through the crowd of people that had gathered in the hall for the post ceremony celebration. As soon as most of them turned and saw the man following closely behind her with his hand on the small of her back the all parted and made a way for them to pass. The people did not know if it was him. He looked like him and he was dressed well enough, but surely he would not lower himself to attend such an event. They made their way over to where Cecily and James sat with the rest of her family. Thomas and Sarah had already taken their places at the table in the front of the room. Annalisa sat in the empty chair next to Alice and Greg was about to take the seat between Emma and Margery, but Alice got up quickly. She pushed Emma out of her chair with her hips and looked up at Greg with a smile.

"You can sit here your majesty."

He looked strangely at the rest of the people at the table before smiling back at the girl and taking the seat between her and Annalisa.

"You could have just asked me to move over," Emma said as she sat in the chair next to her mother.

"Congratulations on gaining another daughter, Margery," one of the woman's friends said as she stopped by the table. "The ceremony was beautiful."

"Thank you," her mother replied. "We put a lot of work into it."

"Oh, I'm sorry," the woman said upon seeing the two men at the table that she was unfamiliar with. "I did not notice that you had guests I had not met." She didn't notice Greg as the heir to the throne. He didn't show his face around the common folk much and though they had some idea of how he looked, they seemed to ignore the fancy clothing, knowing that the prince would never come to an event put on by their little village. She then noticed that the men were sitting next to the two older girls.

"Are they courting your girls?"

Before her mother or anyone else could answer Annalisa supplied the nosey woman with an answer. "No."

Everyone looked at her, Greg with a dumbfounded look on his face. Most girls would be glad that someone assumed he was courting them. Emma and Cecily smiled at the awkwardness of Greg and Annalisa but Cecily quieted down once she saw James looking at her goofily. She put her head down and began to blush. Alice seemed to be the only one willing to back her up.

"No, he is not courting her," she said placing her hand on top of his. "He's just a friend of the family."

He smiled at her and politely removed his hand from her grasp.

"I'm going to get something to eat," Annalisa said standing up from the table.

"I'll come with you," Cecily said standing up. "Would you like anything?"

James looked up and saw that she was talking to him. "Yes please," he answered. "Whatever you're having would be fine."

The girls took off towards the food tables while the other people at the table started a conversation of their own. Emma asked a lot of questions, being as curious as she was. Normally this would have bothered Greg, but he had grown fond of the girl. He thought of her almost as a little sister. Alice only stared dreamily at him. The girls returned quickly being allowed to cut the line seeing as they were family. Cecily sat a plate down in front of James and he thanked her. Annalisa sat down with the one plate she had brought back.

"Well where is my food?" he asked her.

"I assume it is on the tables with the rest of the food since you have not gone to get it yet," she told him.

"Why didn't you bring it back with yours?"

"I am not your maid," she told him.

"I am your guest."

"I would much rather have come alone," she told him. "And as I recall, you invited yourself along. I did not ask you."

"Well what am I going to eat?"

"Your tongue if you do not get up and get your own food," she told him. "There is nothing wrong with you, you can get your own food."

He thought quickly. "Actually," he said moving his shoulder a little bit. "My shoulder has been hurting me for the pass few hours."

"I can get your food your majesty," Alice offered. This made Lisa start at her food since she wouldn't have to argue with him anymore.

"No thank you," he told her. "I'd rather Lisa get it. She knows what I like."

She looked at him and turned red with an incredulous look on her face. Cecily and James only smiled having become accustomed to the dynamic of their friends' relationship. She was about to say something but was cut off by her mother.

"Lisa, just get him some food. Do not be rude, he is your guest and your future king."

He smiled triumphantly and she looked at him. Her nose flared as she quickly got up from the table and stalked over to the line of people again. They offered to let her skip, but she refused not wanting to rush to get him his food. She decided to take them up on their offer after she looked over to the table and saw that he had started to eat from her plate. She got what was now her food and walked back over to the table. She sat the plate down and before she could set down. She quickly turned when she felt an arm snake around her waist.

"I didn't think you could get more beautiful than what you were two years ago, obviously I was wrong."

Her mouth formed into a smile and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled her closer and Greg just looked at him as if he was on his way to exile. James looked at Greg knowing his friend would not like what he was seeing while everyone else at the table smiled at the couple hugging in front of them. Evan was a handsome young man. He was tall with broad shoulders and a fairly muscular frame. He had short medium brown hair and green eyes. He seemed to have a very pleasant character too, all of which were probably the reasons why Annalisa was practically drooling over him

"I didn't know you were going to be here," she said.

"That's a tale," Emma said. Annalisa shot her a glare before turning back to the man in front of her.

"Well of course I had to make it back to see my best friend get married," he told her as he smiled back at her. "I also had some few loose ends I've wanted to tie up since I left also."

Her smile grew wider and she began to blush.

She heard someone clearing their throat and then he spoke. "Well aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?"

She turned to him and her smile faded for a second. It returned as she turned back to the man who still had his arm wrapped around her.

"Uhm, Evan this is Greg," she said making everyone at the table a little uneasy by addressing him by his first name. He noticed it and let it slide. He didn't know if he wanted this guy to know his title just yet, "and this is his friend James. This is Evan," she told them, "Thomas's best friend." She beamed as she stared at him.

He didn't like what he was seeing. "Well," he started as he began getting up, "I'm full. Let's dance." He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the floor where people had begun to dance."

"I do not want to dance," she said once they had stopped in the middle of the floor. He did not let go of her and only put his hand on her waist as he began to lead her in a dance. "I'm going back to talk to Evan."

She was about to leave but he held on to her. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"I don't care what you think," she said as she tried to leave again. He only held onto her tighter. She looked back towards the table where Evan was standing. He gave her a small smile before walking away from the table. She sighed heavily and decided to just suck it up and dance with him. Evan was already gone to mingle with others so there was no use in rushing to get back to the table.

It didn't take her long to notice how light he was on his feet as he guided her around the dance floor. She was actually starting to have fun as he spun her around on the dance floor as the music sped up a little. She couldn't help the smile that came to her face.

"You see, I told you you'd like this better," he said. She forced the smile to disappear from her face, making him laugh.

The music slowed back down to its original pace. He noticed how she relaxed a little more and continued to let him guide her as they danced.

"Are you telling me you are not enjoying yourself at all right now?"

"I am not telling you anything," she told him. "You are the one that won't be quiet."

"Well forgive me for trying to have a civil conversation with the woman I am dancing with."

"Why are you a fan of me having civil conversations when you are the person I am having it with, but when I try to talk to Evan…,"

"Because I do not like him," he said before she could finish.

"He did nothing to you," she said with furrowed brows.

"Mary did nothing to you," he replied.

"You don't know that."

"What did she do to you?"

"I am at my brother's wedding. I would prefer not to talk about one of your little…things."

He was about to reply, but only smiled and decided to say nothing. She rolled her eyes at him and he continued to stare at her as they danced. She glanced at him to see him staring at her and she shifted uncomfortably.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing," he pulled her a little closer to him as they continued to sway to the music.

Now she was flustered, why was he always staring at her like that? And why did she always get butterflies in her stomach when he did? She took a deep breath as she felt the warmth coming off of his body, trying to gather herself. But that didn't help since the breath was full of his scent. She swallowed hard and started to fidget a little in his grip. She felt her face getting hot, and was overjoyed when the music stopped. She quickly pulled away from him and rushed out of the building to get some fresh air. He watched after her, confused, and Cecily got up quickly to follow her after seeing her rush out.

"Did something happen?" Cecily asked as she reached the back patio to the building.

Annalisa turned to face her. "No, nothing happened." Cecily looked at her funny before smiling.

"What?" she asked, getting a little annoyed.

"You are flushed," Cecily said as she started laughing.

An angry look overtook Lisa's face as she turned away. "I am not."

"You like him," Cecily said as she walked to stand on side of her cousin.

"I do not like him," she said as if she were disgusted by just the thought.

"Then why are you so flustered? You've been dancing with him for the past few minutes, so he has to b…,"

"I am not flustered."

"Well you were a minute ago," Cecily laughed, knowing she was getting on the girl's nerve while at the same time hinting at the truth.

"You don't know what you're talking about?"

"Have you two… you know?"

"No," Annalisa half yelled at her as if it were not the reason he had summoned her in the first place. "How could you ask me such a thing?"

"Well I just thought since you were his concubine you two would have… you know."

"Well we have not."

"Do you think you will anytime soon?"

"Unless he asks me to marry him…," she paused, thinking about it, "no, because I would never say yes."

"Never?" Cecily asked as a smile reappeared on her face.

"Never."

"Are you sure Lisa, because your face was quite red just a few minutes ago?"

Annalisa was about to answer her, but realized the girl was only trying to pull her chain. They both burst into laughter.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," Evan said from the back door of the hall.

"You aren't," Cecily replied since Annalisa seemed to be a little to love struck to answer.

"If you don't mind," Evan said, "I'd like to speak to your cousin."

"I don't mind," Cecily said before walking back into the building.

She rejoined the others at the table.

"Well it looks like you were having a good time," he said smiling as he stood next to her. "You seem happy with him."

"Oh, no," she stuttered. "I am not with him."

"Oh?" he said as his eyes grew a little wider. He fumbled over his words. "I'm sorry. I just thought that since…,"

She smiled at him. "No need to apologize. He would not even be here if he had not forced himself an invitation."

"No?"

"No," she replied simply. She knew he wanted a further explanation, but she did not want to reveal her situation to him just yet. She was embarrassed about it, especially when it came to Evan.

He turned and looked straight ahead as he rested against the bannister, and was quiet a while before he spoke. "Well, I guess that is good news for me?"

"How do you mean?" she asked him a little curious.

"I just assumed that if you were not with that fellow you were dancing with, you were not with anyone," he paused waiting for her to answer.

"I am not," she said as a smiled spread across her face. She tried to stop it, but she couldn't. He made her giddy.

He stood up straight and turned to face her. "I think you should know that I came back tonight for two reasons. One was to attend Thomas's wedding. The other reason would be you." She looked up at him and her eyes twinkled in the moonlight bringing a smile to his face. "I should have asked you to come with me when I left."

* * *

"What is he saying?"

"I do not know I am standing next to you," James said.

Gregory stopped to shoot his friend a glare. He did not need his sarcasm. He saw the man twiddling with something in his pockett and quickly went to snatch up Amelia from the table. He already knew what was about to happen, and he would not let it happen. He could cut him off at the pass or he could let him go through with it and take the girl away anyway. She was his now, there was nothing no one could do about that now. He decided it would be better t to cut him off before he even got the question out, it would be better for both of them that way. Then he wouldn't have to deal with the scene that would be caused by the girl when he took her back to the palace with him.

"Go get the girl," he told Amelia. "Tell her my shoulder is hurting and we are to leave at once for her mother's house. I need her to check it out."

They had made arrangements to sleep in the village since they knew the celebrations would end in the early hours of the morning.

"Yes sire," Amelia said as she hurried to the back door of the building. Cecily had informed them all that the girl was on the back patio talking with Evan. She could tell by the prince's demeanor he was upset. Either that or the pain was really getting to him.

He was just about to take the box out of his pocket when a girl showed up at the door.

"Miss," Amelia said stepping onto the back patio, "the prince has summoned you. He is in pain and he awaits you to return to your mother's house for the night."

"He is the prince?" Evan said only half shocked. He had thought the man's face was familiar, but he had only seen him on paintings. He could not be sure. He also never thought that a member of the royal family would ever be bothered with such common folk as them.

"Tell him I'll be right there," Annalisa said ignoring him. She did not want him to know that information just yet.

"I'm sorry Miss, but he seemed quite upset. I think it would be best if you come right away. His shoulder seems to be bothering him quite a bit," the girl said, not having any idea that the man's shoulder was not bothering him in the least.

"What happened to his shoulder?" Evan asked.

"He got shot by an arrow," she told him.

"How did that happen?"

"He stepped in front of it," she told him.

"Why?"

"He stepped in front of me," she finished.

"Miss?" Amelia said in an almost pleading voice. She liked the girl she had been assigned to, but her stubbornness sometimes got Amelia in trouble also.

"You should go," Evan said with a reassuring smile. "We can talk later."

Annalisa's heart dropped. She could tell he was about to say something to her, something big that would probably change her life forever. He had already said that he should've taken her with him when he left, and she was sure he was going to ask her to go with him this time.

"Come by my mother's house after you leave from here," she told him. "We can talk then."

He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead. "I'll see you then."

"Ouch," he said as the Annalisa poked and prodded harshly at the scar on his shoulder. He was sorry he hadn't come up with another lie. His shoulder was not hurting before, but it was now. He grabbed her hand and held it away from his scar. "Can you be a little gentler?"

She rolled her eyes at him.

"What is your problem?"

"You are my problem," she yelled at him. "Your shoulder is fine and if it is not there is nothing I can do about it. Now I am going to bed do not bother me."

She was about to get up and go into Emma and Alice's bedroom to sleep but he grabbed her hand before she could leave.

"You are sleeping here tonight."

"We are not at the palace. We are in my mother's home," she told him.

"I know where we …,"

"And I will not disrespect her by lying in bed with a man I am not married too," she said as she tried to rise from the bed again.

"I spoke with your mother," he told her. "You are sleeping here."

"No, I am not."

"Yes," he said tightening his grip on her arm. He was still a little peeved about her little encounter with the Evan person earlier that night.

She looked into his eyes and saw a flash of anger shoot through them making her boldness subside for the time being. She looked away and he loosened his grip on her arm, knowing that he had won.

* * *

Her eyes fluttered open at the sound of a light tapping on the window. She sat up and removed the arm that lay limply across her frame before sliding out of bed, careful not to wake the man sleeping next to her. She went to the window and smiled when she saw Evan. "I will meet you at the front door," she mouthed through the window. She left the room quickly but quietly and went to let Evan in at the front door.

"It's freezing out," he said a bit too loudly for her.

"Quiet," she said. "Everyone is asleep. I do not wish to wake them."

"Sorry," he said a little quieter. She went to the sofa in front of the fire place and sat down. He joined her.

"How is his shoulder?" he asked. That was one thing she liked about Evan. He was always concerned about others.

"He is fine," she said with a smile. "But I do not wish to talk about him. I'd like to finish our conversation from earlier if you do not mind."

"Right," he said getting a little nervous. His hand immediately went to his pocket. "There was something I wanted to ask you, but I'm a little nervous now."

"Do not be nervous, it is only me."

He smiled at her before taking a deep breath and pulling the ring out of his pocket. He got down on one knee and a huge smile came to her face.

"Annalisa," he said, "I wanted to know if you would do me the honor of being my bride?"

Her smile broke into a full grin. "Yes." She said making a smile replace the nervous look on his face. "I will marry you." The next thing she noticed his lips were being pressed against hers, but before she could start to enjoy it fully, she was being pulled from her spot on the sofa.

"What the hell are you doing?" he yelled at her.

"I," she was at a loss for words, or rather he startled them out of her. She did not expect to be pulled from the arms of the man she loved only to face one whose temper was like one of a raging bull at the moment.

"Let go of her," Evan said.

"You stay the hell out of this before I have you banished," he yelled back at Evan.

"Banish me, but I am taking her with me."

"The hell you are," he said as he pulled Annalisa away from Evan. She was still struggling to find her words, not that they would be heard over the yelling match going on anyway.

"Are you both mad?" they heard another male voice come from the hallway. They both looked over to see James and the rest of the occupants of the house with exhausted, confused looks on their faces. "What is going on?"

"We are leaving," was all he said before pulling Annalisa towards the bedroom with him to get his things. "Go get the driver," he yelled at Amelia. The girl quickly ran to the next door neighbors who had generously offered to put the man up for the night.

"I am not going with you," she told him.

"Yes you are."

"No I am not," she said. "He asked me to marry him."

"I don't care," he yelled at her making his entire face turn even redder than what it was. She tried to back up but her back was met by the closed door. "I told you I did not want you talking to him. You are mine, not his. You cannot marry unless I say so."

Her eyes began to fill with tears. He was really going to stop her from marrying Evan. All she had ever wanted was to marry a man she loved and raise a family with him, and he was going to take that away. Normally she would have said to hell with him, but he had the power to do exactly what he said. She only saw one other option.

"Please," she said as tears started to roll down her cheeks. "Don't make me leave him. You have lots of other girls, surely you can…,"

"We are leaving," he said as he grabbed her hand and dragged her out to the carriage where the driver, James, and Amelia were waiting. Cecily had decided to go back in the morning, not really comprehending what was going on due to her exhausted state.

"I will come for you," Evan said following them outside. Without saying a word, Greg turned and punched Evan square in the face.

Annalisa gasped and put her hands up to her mouth. She was about to go and check on him, but felt a strong arm wrap around her waist, lifting her up onto the seat of the carriage.

"Drive," he yelled to the driver before he had fully closed the door. With that one word the horses were galloping fiercely down the road.

"What is wrong with you?" she asked as she hit him in the chest. He grabbed both her wrists and held them tightly.

"If you do not calm down, it will end badly for you and that boy back there," he said through clenched teeth. She wanted to hit him, kick him, bite him, anything, but she did not take it lightly when the people she cared about were threatened. She sunk into her corner of the carriage and cried the rest of the way back to the palace. Amelia wanted to comforter her, but she two was afraid of the temper that had flared up on the prince.

When the carriage finally stopped, she was about to get out and go to her room. She wanted to get as far away from him as she could, and unfortunately that was the farthest she could get. He put his hand out, not letting her get up.

"Go and pack some clothes for you and her. Be back here in ten minutes."

"Yes your majesty," Amelia said as she rushed out of the carriage.

Annalisa just watched with a tear streaked face, wondering what was going on, but too hurt and afraid to ask. She watched as James got up from his seat and slowly climbed out of the carriage. He turned back to them and looked at the prince.

"Where are you going?" he asked. "Incase your mother asks."

"The farm house," he said in a cold tone.

James nodded and shot Annalisa a concerned look before turning to walk away, knowing that his friend was upset to a point now that even he could not talk him down from it.

A few minutes later, Amelia ran back to the carriage and climbed in with two large suitcases before closing the door. The horses started to gallop again.

"If you can entertain other men, surely you can fulfill your duty to me." That was all he said to her.

Annalisa looked at Amelia to see the girl was looking at her with the same horrified look she had on her face.

* * *

A/N: I loved how I fooled you guys into thinking that Annalisa was going to sleep with Evan...that usually doesn't work when I do it so that's why I'm excited about it! I know this part is kind of a cliffy, but a good cliffy, I think. So what do you guys think about this chapter? I fell like I wrote it in a hurry, but that's because I feel like it is a chapter with a lot of commotion, but I might be perceiving it wrong so I want to know what you think. I also want to know what you think will happen next? Pray for me and this test...Wheeeeewwwww! Back to studying, oh and the rating might be changing to M soon, like next chapter soon... go ahead, don't be shy...REVIEW!


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Whew! I'll edit later. Finals ain't no joke. Sorry the update took so long, but it's longer than the last few parts. So hopefully that makes up for it. I hope you enjoy.

* * *

"Come on," he said as he grabbed her by her elbow and pulled her away from the carriage.

She looked back at Amelia with a tear stained face, her mouth open to speak, but nothing came out. She wanted to yell back at the girl to help her, but Amelia still shared the same helpless look as she did. Then she realized the girl wasn't moving with her, and as if reading her mind, Amelia pointed to a much smaller house than the one she was being pulled towards. She saw that there was smoking coming from the chimney and the lights were on. She looked back to Amelia and the girl turned her head with a sad look on her face and began walking towards the lit home. When she turned back to face the prince, she saw that they had reached the door of the house. He opened it, and pulled her in behind him.

"I told you to stay away from him," he said through gritted teeth.

"I'm sorry," she said taking the stairs two at a time and trying to keep up with him. "Please let me explain."

"There is nothing to explain," he yelled looking down at her as they reached the top of the stairs. The volume of his voice alone made her go quiet. "You were kissing another man. Do you know how embarrassing that was for me?"

"It wasn't just any man. I want to marry him," she said being pulled into a large bedroom.

"You will not marry him or anyone else for that matter," he told her. "You are mine. No one else's."

"I am not some toy you own. You do not possess ownership over me."

"Yes I do," he yelled. "And from now on you will do as I say or there will be dire consequences to be suffered."

"Go to hell," she said as she tried to walk past him.

He grabbed her by both of his arms and pressed his lips to hers. She resisted at first and opened her mouth to protest but that only allowed his tongue excess. She became frustrated with not being able to push him off and out of frustration, began kissing him back almost just as roughly as he was kissing her. He pushed her down on the bed and laid on top of her, quickly reclaiming her mouth with his before she had a chance to protest. Her frustration became desire. But she only became more frustrated at wanting him, turning her mood into one of self destruction. She had every emotion that could be imagined running through her as a single tear slipped down her cheek.

He took the fact that she was now kissing him back as a sign he could let her arms go. She began running her fingers through his hair and his hand went down to separate her thighs. The long night gown had already ridden up to mid way her thigh. He pushed it up more until it was midway her stomach. He managed to slip out of the trousers he had on, his mouth never leaving hers for a full second. Anger still running through every vein in his body, he ripped her panties away from her skin causing her to gasp. Her hand went down to push his hand away, and possibly stop him as she started coming back to her senses, but with one quick thrust of his hips he was inside of her.

She let out a painful cry as he grunted in her ear, finally pulling his mouth away from hers. Her nails dug into the flesh on his shoulders as a few more tears rolled down her cheeks from the shear roughness he exhibited against her. He laid still for a while gathering himself after finally being inside of her, and inadvertently allowing her to gather herself a little. She had not done a well job of it, however, before he withdrew himself and thrust into her again just as wildly as the first time. Her arms encircled him and she held him close trying gather what was happening and deal with the slight pain below her waist.

He buried his face in her neck and continued to thrust himself into her roughly and she closed her eyes tightly as a few more tears trickled down. She could not believe what was happening. She had been proposed to tonight but now she had become some man's … she couldn't even say it now. How could her life have gone so wrong? Maybe life hated her. Maybe she wasn't supposed to live a happy life. She felt so guilty for doing this to Evan. She hadn't even really tried to stop him this time. She hadn't begged him to stop like she had before. Her anger had basically made her give into his command. She kept her eyes close a little longer, encased in her thoughts, but her eyes shot open when an involuntary moan left her mouth. She hoped he hadn't heard her, but he must have as he moved his mouth to her neck and began sucking on her flesh. She tried to gather herself, but again he thrust into her, drawing a moan from her lips before she had a chance to try and stop it. The moans continued coming as he continued to thrust and she realized she had no control over it. She wanted to hate him for what he was doing to her, but it felt so good. She had talked with Giselle about sex and thought it would be the grosses thing to lay with a man you were not in love with, but this was not gross at all. She actually liked it a little, a small part of her wanted this and she hated it. Maybe she wanted it all along and that's why she hadn't stopped him. This made her as angry as he was and soon she found herself thrusting her hips up to meet his gruff, wreck less thrusts. He pulled his mouth away from her neck and brought his lips to hers, nibbling at them softly as he kept up the wild thrusts.

"You are mine," he told her softly. "Do you understand?"

She thought she would hate herself forever for the next word that came out of her mouth, but the fire in her stomach and the chill running continuously through her spine told her she could not deny him. "Yes."

He pressed his lips to hers and she welcomed his tongue this time. He continued to thrust into her until he felt her starting to shiver in his arms. Her moans grew wilder and louder and he pulled his mouth away from hers, staring her in the eyes as her whole body went into spasms. She let out a small cry, and the feel of her walls that had been conformed to fit his manhood like a glove clenching down around him brought him to his own orgasm a few strokes later. She had gone limp in his arms, seconds before, as the last waves of her own orgasm washed over her, and she let out a small gasp as she felt him spill his warm seed into her.

They laid there, still intertwined in each others arms for a few minutes. The full force of what had just occurred started to dawn on her now that her senses were no longer being assaulted. Her emotions began to slide quickly down a slope from one of elation to one of despair, guilt, and regret. He finely rolled off of her and lay on his back next to her. He had only looked up at the ceiling for a couple of seconds before he reached for her, but she was no longer there. He looked across the bed from him and she had curled up into a bawl with the covers wrapped tightly around her on the other edge of the bed. He looked at her with a pensive face and was about to say something until he saw her shoulders jerk a little. She was crying. Now, it was his turn to be confused with mixed emotions.

She had wanted this hadn't she? Well maybe not at first, but she did kiss him back. Maybe he miss read her signs, but if he hadn't he probably would have gone through with it anyway. He was angry and, though he wouldn't admit it even to himself, hurt after seeing her kissing Evan. He became enraged and he was sure if she hadn't kissed back they would still be in the same situation. She seemed to have enjoyed herself he thought, she even agreed to being his. Maybe that was all out of fear, but was she ever really scared of him. She would always speak her mind, but she had never seen him this mad before. Maybe it was fear.

He looked back over at her and her shoulders were jerking harder now as she clutched at her arms. He let out a sad, frustrated, confused sigh and turned of the lantern that sat next to the bed. The room went dark, but both of their minds were working over time. It would be a restless sleep for both of them, if you could even call it sleep.

* * *

She woke up the next morning with a throbbing headache after having cried herself to sleep the night before. The sun light that came through the window didn't help much upon opening her eyes. The light seemed to be even brighter due to the thick blanket of snow that had fallen during the night. She sighed and remained with her back turned to the opposite side of the bed. She moved her hand slowly to his side but felt nothing. She pulled the sheets up to her chest to cover herself before turning to see that the side of the bed was empty. She was a little relieved and a little upset. She was emotionally confused, something that hadn't changed in the past hours. She lay down on her back and absorbed the quiet of the illuminated room. She could tell it was a beautiful day out, especially with the fresh snow fall, but for some reason she dreaded getting out of bed. She had lost everything, she felt, the night before and nothing would ever be as beautiful again.

She heard a knock on the door and turned her head towards it. Soon, Amelia was moving through the small opening in the door.

"Miss," she said with a solemn look her face. "I have made your bath water and breakfast will be waiting for you whenever you are ready to come down."

Amelia didn't know what had happened the night before, but when Lisa's response was only to close her eyes as a single tear escaped them, her suspicions were confirmed. She watched as the girl slowly moved the covers off of her. She left assuming that she didn't want to be around anyone at the time.

"We have pancakes, eggs, fruits… would you like milk or orange juice?" Amelia asked trying to sound cheerful.

"Juice will be fine, " Annalisa replied flatly. She didn't see any sign of the prince. She concluded that was a good thing. Amelia returned shortly along with two other people that must have lived in the servant's house and soon the table was filled with platters of food. She would never understand why they would prepare so much food. There was always food left.

"Thank you," she said as Amelia placed a full plate in front of her. She then followed the rest of the servants back into the kitchen.

Lisa began to eat her food as she tried to calm her feelings of panic about the night before. Maybe this wouldn't all be so bad. Maybe he didn't like her. Maybe he would let her go… but then Evan wouldn't want her. Not after…maybe she could become a seamstress like her mother, which was sure to make her enough money to support herself. Then she could move away from a village and live be herself… alone. She sighed out loud. She felt more guilt than anything. She had betrayed Evan. He had asked her to marry him, and she had ultimately given into the prince's wishes. Her anger led her astray. She was so angry with him…now she was angry with herself for having enjoyed him.

She was sure her heart stopped when he entered into the dinning room. It seemed that he had been up for a while. He was already dressed and had a couple of wet patches on him from where the snow had melted. She looked up at him, eyes wide with fear and panic. He noticed her staring.

"Good morning," he said, glancing at her before quickly diverting his eyes. He sat down at the other end of the table.

She didn't say anything, still a little shocked and now hurt by his behavior towards her. She felt tears coming to her eyes and looked down at her plate as she finished her food. As if she wasn't already mixed up enough, his distant attitude towards her sparked yet another conflicting emotion inside of her, hurt. She continued eating glancing up at him every now and then, but he wouldn't even look at her. It took everything inside of her not to run upstairs crying and stay in bed the rest of the day. He ate his breakfast quietly and quickly before getting up to exit the dinning room. She just looked at his back as he left. Why hadn't he said anything to her? A better question, she thought, was why had she wanted him to say something to her? She looked out of the window and watched as he made his way back over to the barn in the near field.

"Are you finished Miss?"

"Hmm?" she said turning to see Amelia. She hadn't even noticed the girl entering the room.

"Your breakfast?" she repeated. "Are you finished?"

"Yes," Annalisa said getting up and heading towards the stairs, anger now being the path of her emotional roller coaster.

She stood in the window and watched the barn. He was still in there. He had only come out to do a few things around the barn but had never come back into the house. She had never seen him do any manual work before and was a little impressed, though she didn't understand why he didn't make the servants do it. They were the ones that took care of it when he was away.

"The horses he has are very beautiful," Amelia said as she stepped up next to Annalisa. "You should see them before you leave."

Annalisa looked at her but did not answer.

"Are you okay?"

"Of course I am not okay," she practically yelled at her.

She stepped away from the window and sat on the bed.

"I'm sorry," Amelia apologized for no particular reason. "I'm sure he'll talk to you once he…,"

"What makes you think that I am upset because he isn't talking to me?"

"Excuse me," she replied. "What are you upset about then?"

"The man I love asked me to marry him last night and I laid with another man," she yelled at her. "That's what I'm upset about. "

"I'm sorry, that must have been awful for you."

Amelia did not miss the glance Annalisa threw her way. She was surprised to see the slight hint of guilt in the girl's eyes before she looked away. 'Or maybe it wasn't so awful,' she thought to herself.

"Tell me, is your guilt about betraying Evan the only thing you regret about last night?"

"I beg your pardon," Annalisa said clearly offended.

"I didn't mean…," Amelia tried to explain, realizing she had overstepped her boundary. She didn't really feel she had overstepped her boundary, since they had become really good friends, more than she had hit a sore subject, one that the girl was fighting internally with.

"Could you please leave?" Annalisa asked.

Amelia saw from the look on the girls face that she was serious and that there was no reason to stay when she was in a mood like this.

"I am sorry," she said standing up to leave. "Please, forgive me."

The nerve, Annalisa thought as she watched the girl leave the room. Tears started to well in her eyes as soon as the door closed. She crawled back into the bed and willed herself to go to sleep, to forget about her situation for a couple of short hours.

* * *

When she awoke, she went down stairs to find that she was alone in the house. She saw smoke coming from the chimney on the servants' house and a warm, inviting light shown through the window. Needing to feel not totally abandoned, she put on her coat and head out of the door. She glanced at the barn a few times on her way there, knowing he was still in there, but she managed to make herself stay away. She wanted to know why he was ignoring her. After pursuing her for the last couple of months, then finally getting what he wanted and destroying any other chance at happiness for her, he was now completely ignoring her. She wiped a few stray tears away before knocking on the door. She heard people laughing and footsteps getting closer. The rounder of the two oldest women opened the door and met her with a warm smile.

"Hello dear," she said. "Do you need Amelia for something?"

Upon hearing her name, Amelia started to make her way to the door.

"No," Annalisa started, "it's just that when I woke up everyone was gone. I thought I could keep your company, but if I am intruding…"

"You are awake from your nap," Amelia said finally reaching the door. "Well come in."

"Yes dear, you'll catch cold," the older woman said putting her hand on her shoulder to usher her in. The warmth was very much welcomed after having been in the harshly cold weather for only a few minutes. "Hervey was just about to tell one of his wild stories, before we go to prepare dinner."

Amelia took her coat, and put it with the others before the three women made their way back into the atrium of the home. She was met with a warm smile by the other servants, and joined them around the older man who sat in the chair that faced everyone else. The man began telling one of the most interesting stories she had ever heard, and it keep everyone entertained until it was almost dusk. They all head back over to the main house to prepare for dinner.

* * *

She stood out in the hallway a little nervous about going into the room. He had not said anything to her the whole day, other than the barely audible good morning. Dinner had been awkward seeing that they were the only two at the table. This had only served to make her feel worse. She realized that her feelings were hurt and this conflicted her even more. Was she just like the other girls now that fawned over him when he clearly showed no particular interest in them outside of the bedroom? But he did talk to them, acknowledge their presence. And her hurt feelings made her feel even guiltier about the whole Evan situation. She was in love with him, she was sure of that, but she had not tried very hard to stop Greg the night before. She could blame it on her anger and being heartbroken. She had had a selfish need for self destruction the night before, but if that was only it, why did she want him to acknowledge her so badly.

She opened the door and walked in. She slowly made her way over to the bed and sat down on the edge. He did not even attempt to take his eyes away from the book in his hands. Usually he would stare her down when she was clad in only her night gown, and anything else for that matter. She found herself starting to panic inwardly. What if he had found her body repulsive? What if he was no longer attracted to her and this was his way of being nice about it? What if he pitied her? She quickly erased the thought from her mind and crawled under the covers next to him. When she didn't feel him make even the slightest movement, she closed her eyes tightly only letting one lone tear escape. She would not turn to face him nor try to engage him in a conversation. She was hurt and embarrassed, and that is the thought that took her into a troubled night of sleep.

* * *

The next morning, she woke before him. She got dressed and made her way downstairs. They both must have slept in late, because breakfast was already being put out on the table for them. She had only been in the dinning room a few minutes before he joined her. She looked up at him as he sat across the table from her. Again he mumbled a good morning and she found herself growing slightly agitated. She wasn't angry, more anxious than anything now. She could not go another day with this, whatever it was, going on between them, not after what had happened.

"Excuse me your majesty," one of the servants said as he walked into the dinning room, "I wanted to know if you would be taking care of the horses again today, or should I go on and start the routine."

"No, I'll do it," he said. "Thank you Gladwin."

The man nodded before leaving the room. That was the most she had heard his voice since the night they arrived at the farm house. She had to say something.

"May I come with you?" He looked up at her, looking a little shocked at the sound of her voice. She grew a little uneasy and her confidence wavered. "To the barn," she clarified, breaking eye contact with him. "I want to see the horses. I heard they were beautiful."

He only stared at her, and she altered between breaking and making eye contact with him. He finally started on his food again without saying anything to her. She ate the rest of her breakfast fearing she had made a complete fool of herself. It wasn't until she heard his chair push away from the table, she noticed him standing up, but still didn't look his way until she heard his voice.

"Are you coming out to the barn now or would you like to join me later?" She looked up at him. This time she was the one shocked upon hearing his voice. She slowly rose from her chair and they prepared to go out into the barn. It was colder in the barn than in the house, but they would be shielded from the harsh winter winds. When he opened the door to the barn, allowing her to step in first, she was a little surprised by how big it actually was. They could not afford to own one good horse and here he had a whole array of them, plus a few other animals. She strode slowly in front of him exploring the bottom floor of the barn and the huge loft that bordered above. She could see why he would spend so much time in here. It seemed like a very peaceful place to be to just get away. She cringed at the thought of him trying to get away from her. Maybe that's what he was trying to do and she had just intruded on his retreat from her. She turned back to face him but he had already began doing the daily chores that needed to be done in the barn. She heard one of the horses Ney and kick against the door softly making her turn back around. She turned again to see him glaring at the horse before rolling his eyes and completely ignoring it. A slight smile came to her face, finding it amusing that he clearly had something against this horse. She turned to look back at the horse that stuck it's head out over the door to its stall. She started walking closer to it and saw that it was almost all black, except for a white diamond shaped patch on his nose. She stopped when she got in front of its door. He was a beautiful horse. The horse snorted softly bringing a smile to her face. She reached out and petted its snout softly and he nuzzled into her touch.

"I see he ruffles your feathers too," she said quietly to the horse. The horse bobbed its head making her laugh a little. She knew he could not understand her but it was fun to pretend. She had no one else to talk to right now. They stayed in the barn the rest of the day. She felt a little sorry for the horse when Greg had opted to make it the very last animal he fed. She had asked him why he had done so and he only replied that the horse was wild and needed to be tamed. He needed to know who the owner was and who the animal was. She had snuck the horse some carrots anyway while he was busy feeding the other animals. They had been in the barn the whole day and it was getting close to dinner time. She walked back over to the horse whose name she had learned was Abbacus after checking out some of the other animals. She was petting Abbacus when she heard a high pitched sound. She froze and shushed the horse when he snorted. She wanted to see if she could hear the sound again. She did.

She made her way cautiously over to the back door of the barn and pushed it open. She heard it again, this time a little more clearly, but not much louder. She mad her way over to the back end of the barn and was surprised to see a small gray kitten trying and failing awfully at trying to make its way through the thick snow. She watched as the kitten took another step and his foot sunk into the snow, he had to crawl out of the little hole he had made for himself only to repeat the action.

She giggled a little at the poor little creature and slowly made her way over to it. "Come here," she picked up the kitten and brought it to her chest trying to warm it. She could feel it shivering.

"What are you doing out here?" The kitten only snuggled into the warmth of her touch. "Where is your mother?"

She heard another meow. It was not the kitten she had in her arms. She looked over and saw a white kitten up on the spare wheel that lay against the barn. She leaped down onto the snow and her white fur immediately blended with the snow as she too made a hole from herself. She went to pick up that one only to find one with a red coat up against the far side of the barn, shivering and looking terrified. She tucked the white one in her arm with the gray one and went to go and pick him up. He gave an appreciative meow when she finally picked him up from the snow. She turned to go back into the barn but instead, saw another kitten with a darker colored gray coat.

"How many of you are there?" As she said that, she saw a beige colored one struggling to make his way through the snow a short distance away.

As she leaned down to pick up the one right in front of her the white one jumped out of her arms. "No, you get back here," she told him picking her up out of the hole. "You can get lost easily." She held her to her face and she only let out another meow.

She heard the beige one meow softly which turned into a slightly startled cry when he fell through a soft spot in the snow. She tried to gather all of the kittens in her arms but they kept jumping out of her arms. They were little, but it was hard to corral the five tiny little fur balls in her arms. She finally got to the beige one, but the first gray one jumped out of her arms along with the red one.

"No, come back," she said trying to gather them back into her arms.

"What are you doing?" she heard a voice say from behind her. She looked back to see Greg staring at her with a slightly amused look on his face.

She only stared at him for a moment. "Help me get them," she said turning her attention back to the kittens.

"Leave them."

"I will not leave them," she told him sounding a little offended. "They will freeze to death."

"They made it through last night."

"That does not mean they will make it through tonight."

He looked at her a little longer before shaking his head as a small smile came to his face. The kittens were clearly getting the better of her.

"I'm going in for dinner."

"Help me," she said after looking back and seeing he had began to walk away.

"Leave them," he called back to her.

She let out a frustrated sigh and began to try and gather the kittens again. Sometimes he made her so mad. She finally gathered them all, but had to stop every five steps as one would wiggle its way out of her grip. Luckily, Amelia came to her aid and helped her to get them into the house.

They put them in one of the rooms off from the atrium until after dinner and went to get washed up. Dinner was quiet again as usual. Though they had talked earlier that day, they seemed to be progressing back into their muteness. A slight scratching at the door in the next room penetrated the silence. He heard a meow and his eyes grew.

She looked up at him and quickly looked away.

"What was that?" he asked her already knowing the answer.

"The kittens."

"I told you to leave them," he told her. His voice grew louder but he wasn't yelling.

"I couldn't. They would have frozen to death."

He abruptly pushed his chair away from the table and exited to the other room. She got up quickly to follow him, mouth already open in protest at what he was about to do. He grabbed the basket she had put them in and headed towards the back door. She ran in front of him and blocked the door.

"Move," he told her sternly.

"You can't put them out there. They'll freeze."

"I don't care. Now move."

"Please don't," she pleaded.

He tucked the basket under his arm and grabbed her arm, moving her out of the way.

"They won't be a problem. They won't bother you."

"They're going outside."

"How can you be so cold hearted?" she said with tears in her eyes. She had grown fond of the kittens, and even if she hadn't, she still didn't want to find their stiff little bodies frozen in the snow the next morning.

He turned to look at her and saw that her eyes were wet. She turned from him and stormed off up stairs. He stared at the doorway at which she had just exited. He didn't want her to think of him as cold hearted. Maybe this was his chance to regain some ground with her after what had happened. After that night, he had felt too ashamed of himself to face her, and had opted for ignoring her instead. He knew that she hated him and that hurt him for some odd reason. He looked down at the kittens in the basket as they began to meow and one began climbing out of the basket, its tiny little paws grasping onto his shirt. He let out an irritated sigh and closed the door back. He sat the basket full of kittens in the atrium and went to finish his dinner. Annalisa did not come back down to finish her food and he knew she was angry with him.

* * *

"Are you ready for your bath Miss?" Amelia asked as she entered the room.

Annalisa looked up to see the girl with the little red coated kitten in her arms. She held her hand up in front of the kitten and he playfully pawed at it.

"Where did you get him?" she asked a little shocked at seeing the kitten.

"They are downstairs," Amelia said a little confused. She did not know that Lisa thought the kittens were outside. "In the atrium."

Annalisa smiled and took the kitten from the girl. She headed towards the stairs.

"Miss, your bath?"

"Yes, get the water ready," she told her. "I'll be up shortly."

She walked into the atrium and saw the basket of kittens. They all immediately ran to her feet, all of them meowing, and she headed to the kitchen. She found two small saucers and filled them with milk. She sat them on the floor and sat in the chair as she watched the kittens have at it.

Greg walked in the room and went over to the refrigerator. He glanced at her and the kittens and proceeded to get himself some water. The dark gray kitten noticed him and quickly made its way over, running around his feet and meowing. He poured himself a glass of water and closed the door. He was about to take a step but the kitten ran under his feet as he was about to step down. He had to change step mid stride and he almost fell. He glared at the kitten that only looked up at him and meowed. He heard Annalisa laughing quietly and glared at her. She only smiled playfully at him and he turned to leave the kitchen.

"Thank you," she told him, "for letting them stay."

He nodded at her before walking back into the living room.

That night she slept a little more peacefully. They actually talked to each other in the bedroom. It wasn't much, but it was better than the previous nights.

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A/N: Okay I hoped you guys liked this. I wasn't sure about how to write the first part so... review and let me know what you think. :/


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: With all sincerity I am Sorry to keep you guys hanging in the balance. But with school and the holidays and everything else, I just got super busy and didn't have time to update. I did manage to sneak some fun in, but unfortunately, fun is not what has kept me from writing :/ I hope you guys enjoy this update though and tell me what you think. I always feel a little off when I stop writing for a while.  


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She was already half awake, and the sound of the bedroom door opening made her open her eyes and rise up a little. She realized that she was lying stretched out in the middle of the bed since she was alone in bed. He walked through fully dressed. She lay back down, after realizing it was him but kept her eyes open. He walked over to the dresser to receive something from it. He then turned and looked at her. She was staring off into a distant space and he could tell she was in deep thought, something he figured was more sleep induced than anything.

"I'm sorry," he spoke and her eyes quickly darted to him. "The snow will be too thick if it continues to snow. We cannot make it back to the town for a few more days. You won't be able to spend Christmas with your family."

It dawned on her that it was Christmas Eve. They stared at each other for a little while, but neither of them spoke. Her eyes went back to the spot on the wall and she continued to stare sleepily at it. She was a little upset about not being able to spend Christmas with her family, but something else had dawned on her.

She had not started yelling and screaming at him so he took that as a sign that she was not outraged at the news he had just delivered to her. He turned quietly and left the room.

A small smile came to her face when she heard the door close. He had apologized for keeping her away from her family. Out of all the cruel things he had done to her, this was the first time he had apologized for something.

"Stupid cat," she heard him mumble from the hallway, followed by a humble meow.

Her smile grew even bigger. A few seconds later she heard scratching at the door and meowing. She got up and opened the door to find the gray kitten there. She picked it up and held it close to her. She decided to get dress and go down stairs to see if Amelia was anywhere around.

When she got down stairs, she found no sign of Greg. Amelia informed her that breakfast was waiting on the table. After eating breakfast and still not seeing him, she assumed he was out in the barn.

"Do you need anything else Miss?" Amelia asked after clearing the food from the table.

"Yes," she started. "Can you come out to the barn with me?"

Amelia smiled at her, having an idea of why she wanted to go to the barn. She noticed the girl's smile and felt she had to explain her intentions.

"I want to take the kittens out," she said a little defensively.

"Of course," Amelia said wiping the smile from her face. She didn't want Lisa to get mad at her again. "I'll get our coats."

Lisa put the kittens in the basket and she and Amelia made their way out to the barn. When they first got there, she didn't see the prince and she was a little disappointed. That was until he peeped over from the loft and spoke.

"Are you following me with those things just to annoy me?" he asked her motioning to the kittens that had now hopped out of the basket and were scurrying around on the floor.

"No, of course not," she told him.

He looked at the kittens than back at her for a little while before disappearing again into the space above them.

"What does he do in here all day?" Amelia asked.

Lisa only shrugged before heading towards the stables to see what had become her favorite horse.

They spent most of the day in the barn again. It had come time to feed the animals again and again Greg had decided to feed Abbacus last. Amelia saw Lisa pick up a few of the vegetables up from the bin and walked over to the stall.

"What are you doing? Are you mad?" She asked her.

"Be quiet," she told her as she put one of the carrots to the horse's mouth.

"The prince will be mad if he catches you feeding that horse after he intentionally did not."

"Well he is going to feed him anyways, so I don't see what the problem is."

Greg heard the girls half whispering and decided to see what they were talking about. He turned the corner and saw Annalisa feeding the horse that she knew he did not want to feed yet. He wasn't mad about her feeding the horse, he could care less about that, but it never ceased to anger him when she disobeyed him.

He sighed heavily before walking over and snatching the radish from her hand. "I think it is best you go inside now."

She could tell he was mad, and instead of arguing with him. She and Amelia gathered the kittens and headed back inside.

Dinner had already been placed on the table. She ate since he seemed to be staying in the barn longer than usual. She had already taken her bath and was sitting in bed reading a book by the time he entered. He didn't say anything to her. He got into bed and turned his back to her.

"You cannot be mad at me," she said. She did not want to sink back into the silence again since she was stuck with him for a few more days. "I only fed him. Were you not going to do the same?"

"I was, when I got ready," he said as he turned to face her. "There is a different between you feeding him and my feeding him. Care to guess what that is?"

Her eyes narrowed. "You are mad with me when you are the one that is keeping me from spending Christmas with my family."

"How is that you bring that up after an entire day? Clearly you were not upset about it early."

"You do not know if I was upset or not. "

"Well you didn't seem like it."

"Maybe I was just holding my piece to keep you from stomping around like the child you are. Your true colors can only be held at bay for so long."

"I'm the one acting like a child?"

"Yes, you are. You are always making something out of nothing."

"Are you serious? My life has been turned upside down since the day I met you. You are always causing unneeded turmoil for me and personally, I'm starting to think you are more trouble than you are worth."

Her mouth opened to say something but she closed it quickly as her eyes filled with tears. She threw the cover off of her and got out of the bed.

"Where are you going?" he questioned, knowing he had once again gone too far with his words.

He was only answered by the door slamming as she left the room. A few seconds later, he heard the door down the hall slam and knew she had opted to sleep in one of the extra bedrooms.

He let out frustrated sigh, mostly because of himself and turned over to try and go to sleep. Instead, he just tossed and turned. After realizing that the conscious he had so effectively learned to ignore was not going to go unheard that night, he dragged himself out of the bed and made his way down the hall. She was not in the first bedroom he looked in. He went one more door down and saw that she had started a small fire in the fireplace in that room.

He walked in slowly and closed the door. "Are you asleep?"

A dry 'yes' was all that he got. He rolled his eyes and still climbed into bed behind her. He tried to put his arm around her but was stunned when he received a firm hand to his face.

"What the hell was that for?" he asked her.

"How dare you take me away from my husband and then…,"

"He is not your husband," he yelled at her still a little shocked by the hand he had received to the face. He ignored the tears that were still coming down her face.

"He would have been, if you were mature enough to control your urges."

"I can control my urges," he argued back. "I controlled them for six months only to have you try and run off with another man."

"He asked me to marry him," she yelled back in disbelief of the point he was trying to make. "I had a future with him which is more than I can say for whatever is to come with you."

"Well it is too late now. You…umph," before he could finish he felt a knee to his groin. Upon instinct, he had tried to block her, but she had still gotten a good shot in.

"You selfish, egotistical bastard, how dare you?" She began hitting him and he was conflicted between stroking his wound and stopping her from causing more harm to him.

After his initial pain had subsided a little he grabbed both of her wrists. "Stop it." Her leg went to move again, since she could no longer use her hands but he rolled himself on top of her to keep her from moving.

"Get off of me," she told him.

"Not until you calm down," he told her. "Are you mad?"

"I said get off," she struggled against him and he held her tighter. She stopped after seeing she wasn't going to break away from his hold.

"Do you give up?"

"Go to hell," she said as her chest heaved up and down.

"I am sorry," he told her. She just looked at him. "I shouldn't have said you were more trouble than you are worth. "

"No, you shouldn't have," she chimed in.

"Don't get me wrong you are a lot of trouble," he told her. "So I am really saying a lot."

She smiled up at him. She really did cause a lot of problems for him. But he did the same to her so she figured they were even.

He just stared at her. He liked when she smiled, especially when that smile was meant for him. The smile began to disappear and blush came to her face as she saw him staring down at her. His eyes moved towards her lips and then back to her eyes. He moved his face closer to hers and hesitated before placing a tender kiss on her lips. To his surprise, she kissed back. He pressed his lips to hers once again, this time more passionately. He let go of her hands and she wrapped her arms around his neck deepening the kiss. He began grinding his now growing member into her pelvis, having forgotten about the pain he was experiencing only moments ago. His hands went to the bottom of her night gown and he began to pull it up slowly. Her breath hitched and she pulled away from the kiss after feeling his long slender fingers dip into her panties. Her hands gripped his wrists firmly. He leaned down and pressed his lips softly to hers before looking her in the eyes. "Relax," he told her. Her eyes searched his for a moment before she found something she never thought she would see in them, comfort. He felt her grip loosen on his wrists. He pressed his lips back to hers and easily slid her panties off. He slipped his trousers off and she moaned when she felt his hardened member press against her stomach. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled them up into a sitting position, so she was now straddling him. He began kissing and sucking on her neck as he pulled the gown further up. He slipped it over her head and his mouth again attacked the flesh of her neck before slowly making its way down to her breasts. She arched her back a little as she felt his warm mouth encircle the peak of her breast and a soft moan escaped her as his strong arms wrapped tighter around her. She was a little unsure at first, but soon her fingers became entangled in his hair as she urged him to continue.

His mouth made its way back to her jaw line as his hands gripped her hips. He positioned himself at her entrance and coaxed her into opening her eyes with a tender kiss on the lips. As her eyes met his, he slowly pushed inside of her. Her mouth fell open and she inhaled sharply before a long drawn out moan escaped her as he pushed the last of himself into her. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his neck, still a little intimidated by him, as he began to thrust slowly into her. He began placing small kisses on her shoulder as she moaned softly into his ear. He could sense her uncertainty. He kissed her neck before he softly spoke in her ear. "You are so beautiful," he told her in a low rugged voice that along with the words sent a small chill down her spine. He continued cooing in her ear telling her how beautiful she was. Soon he felt her arms unraveling from around him as she brought her lips to his placing a small kiss on them. She pulled back and bit her lip, unsure of herself again, but he washed the thoughts from her mind as he pressed his lips back to hers. The passionate kiss turned into small hungry nips as he continued to thrust into her. There room was becoming hotter by the second and she soon noticed that the fire had nothing to do with it, instead, the thin film of sweat that had began to cover both their bodies, causing their skin to slide smoothly against one another while sticking to each other in other places, had intensified the passion and sensuality of the moment.

He laid her down gently on the bed before he reentered her. He pushed her legs up slightly allowing him to be able to penetrate her more deeply. A small cry escaped her as he did and her fingers dug into the flesh of his shoulders as she thought sure he was going to split her. His thrusts became more eager and she wrapped her legs around his back to pull him deeper into her. Though his thrusts were wild and slightly rough, she could still feel the passion behind them as she began thrusting her hips into his. It was like an odd game of tug-o-war. Each of them grinding, and pulling, gripping, and pushing while seemingly fighting to occupy the same space together, to become more a part of the other. After about an hour more of this and at different angles and positions they were both spent, and it culminated with the liquid from his loins creating a warm feeling in her lower abdomin. He collapsed on top of her with his face buried in her neck. She wrapped both her arms around him and her right calf wrapped around the back of his left thigh, the covers haphazardly strewn across them as they both lay catching their breaths.

A few minutes later a smile came to her face as she felt his lips start to press against her neck, leaving a trail of wet kisses. She began running her fingers through his hair. He brought his lips to hers and kissed her before pulling back and looking her in the eyes. She smiled at him, a little more comfortable now. "You're so beautiful," he told her. Her smile widened and she tilted her head up a little and pressed her lips to his. He rolled off of her and wrapped his arm around her pulling her into his chest. She gladly accepted the invitation to sleep in his arms, and few words were spoken before they both fell asleep.

* * *

"Good morning Miss," Amelia said walking into the bedroom, not bothering to knock. She knew the prince was already up and making his way around the house. "Merry Christmas."

Annalisa sat up and pulled the covers up to cover her bare skin. "I have great news, " she started grabbing the robe off of the chair and walking over towards the bed, ignoring the fact that the girl was completely naked. She figured this would be common place now. "I heard the prince talking to Mauriece and we might be able to head back to the palace tomorrow. Isn't that wonderful? I mean, I know we'll miss Christmas, but at least you will get to see your family. I'm sure they are worried sick about you. "

Annalisa stood up and let the girl wrap the robe around her. She followed her into the wash room where a hot bath awaited her. She climbed in and sunk down so the steamy waters could wash over her shoulders. Amelia sat in a chair behind her on the other end of the room and continued talking.

"He went to a near-by town earlier this morning before you woke," she started. "He should be back by now."

"What is he going to do there?" Annalisa asked with a furrowed brow. He had not attempted to leave the farm house since they arrived. They had everything they needed there. Maybe he had gone to see how bad the snow actually was.

"I do not know," Amelia told her.

Lisa let out a soft sigh as she relaxed further into the hot water. Amelia managed to stay quiet the rest of the time as she became captured by the book she was reading. Lisa had become so engrossed in her own thoughts that she didn't hear the bathroom door open. He touched Amelia softly on the shoulder and she got up quietly and left. He made his way quietly over to the bathtub where she now relaxed with her eyes closed. She gasped slightly and her eyes shot open when she felt his lips make contact with the skin on her neck.

"Calm down," he told her, "it's only me."

"You scared…," she started to say but realized that he had placed a silver chain around her neck that had an emerald stone attached to it. Another gasp escaped her, and this time he smiled as he fastened the clasp of the chain.

She turned quickly to face him with a shocked look on her face. "This is beautiful," she told him, before looking down to inspect the jewel further. "Where'd you get it?"

"This little old jewelry maker that lives a few miles away from here," he told her, still looking at the bewildered look on her face.

She had never seen anything so beautiful, let alone having worn it. "Whose is it?" she asked. It couldn't possibly be for her, the thought hadn't even crossed her mind. He must have been testing it out for his mother, or the princess he was to marry.

"Yours," he said. Her eyes quickly rose to meet his and her mouth fell open. "Merry Christmas."

She wanted to speak, but no words would come out. Her eyes went back to the jewel and she didn't even notice him walking away from her. He grabbed the towel off of the chair and held it open to her. When she did notice him, she rose from the tub without hesitation, the jewel still clasped tightly in her hands. He wrapped it around her, and pulled her into his chest. She finally found her voice and realized she hadn't thanked him.

"Thank you," she said in a small voice, still a little shocked at the gift and noticing how close they were now.

He brought his lips down to hers and kissed her softly. He pulled back and stared into her eyes a smile came to her face. She looked down to hide the redness that was coming to her cheeks.

"You are welcome," he told her before releasing his hold on her. He quietly left the bathroom and Amelia entered a few seconds later.

"Are you ready to get dressed…Holy Mother of…"she couldn't finish her sentence and Lisa smiled still having much of the same feeling lingering. "Where'd you get that? It's beautiful."

Lisa smiled and looked down at the jewel again. "He gave it to me."

"I've never seen anything like that on any of the girls before," Amelia started as she began helping Lisa get dressed. The girl continued on about how the prince always showered the girls with gifts but he had never even brought Mary something so beautiful and that she would surely not like it once she saw the jewel hanging from Lisa's neck.

The girls spent the rest of the day together going from the main house, to the servant's house, and to the barn where Greg decided to hide out for only half of the day. Though it was only them, and they both missed their families, they managed to have a fun day. Lisa found she had slightly mixed feelings about leaving now. She did not want to go back to the palace. She didn't know how he would act towards her then; surely things would have to be different. The rest of the girls would be there and she would have to share him, that was something she did not want. She would have asked him to stay a few more days if she hadn't missed her family so. And she knew Amelia was right, they had to have been worried sick about her after being taken away under such circumstances.

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The next morning he woke her up earlier. He was sure it was going to start snowing again and if they were to make it back to the palace, they would have to leave early. The ride back was pleasant, Amelia even getting over some of her fright for the royal family. She actually talked out of turn in front of him, with a little coercing from Lisa who seemed to have gotten more comfortable around him. Though she did have a knot in her stomach about how things would be when they got back to the palace. They arrived back at the palace just as it started to snow and as soon as she stepped out of the carriage she saw Cecily running towards her with James a few feet behind her.

"Are you okay?" she asked checking her cousin over. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," she said with a small laugh. Cecily pulled her into a hug.

"I was so worried about you."

"What did you think?" Greg started sarcastically. "That I'd have her executed for treason?"

Cecily only shot him a glare from over her cousin's shoulder. "We must go home at once, to let everyone else know you are okay."

Cecily took her hand and was about to pull her away until they heard a male voice calling her from the distance. They looked, and although he was not clear at first, Lisa along with everyone else soon saw that it was Evan. Her mouth fell and upon instinct she took a step towards him, but was immediately stopped by Greg's hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw that his facial expression had changed to one of anger.

"You can go to your mother's later," he said as he began leading her towards the palace doors.

"Lisa wait," Evan called out to her, as if she had a choice.

"Wait, can't I just talk to him," she pleaded with Greg. "It won't do any harm now. Surely he…,"

"No," he yelled at her. "You are never to speak to him again. Do you understand?"

"That isn't fair," she told him. "You got what you wanted, you can't just banish me from ever talking to him again."

She continued but it all fell on deaf ears. He opened the door and saw one of the guards standing near the entrance.

"Take her to her room and make sure she stays there until I come back," he ordered.

"Yes your majesty," the guard said as he took hold of Lisa, knowing from the fight she was putting up against the prince that the girl wouldn't go quietly.

"Get your hands off of me," she spat at him. She noticed that the prince had started walking back towards the doors and her stomach became full of fearful butterflies as she worried for Evan's safety. "Wait," she called out to him as the guard pulled her away. "Don't hurt him," was the only thing she could say, hoping that this plea would spare Evan some of the pain he was surely about to suffer.

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A/N: Again sorry. Just a heads up, don't know when the next update will be, hopefully soon though. **Don't forget to reveiw (in detail if you'd like :) and I'm still open to any suggestions you guys have. **


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: This was faster than the last time, hehehe. I just hope I didn't make you wait too long.

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He walked back out to see Evan being restrained by the guards while he frantically tried to get away from them. He was doing a good job at keeping them struggling although there were three of them on him. Cecily stood nearby staring, mortified at what was going on and what was to come. Evan stopped when he saw Greg walking out of the palace. He returned his death glare with one of his own.

"What did you do to her?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"Why are you here?" Greg answered back, completely ignoring the man's question. "I told you to stay away from her and yet you disobey me."

"I love her," Evan yelled at him before he could fully get his sentence out.

"Well she does not love you," Greg said. He was about to say something else, but Evan cut him off.

"You are a liar," he spat out. "I know she loves me. That is why she wanted to marry me. She wants nothing to do with you."

The guard twisted the boy's arm causing him to wince and James decided that maybe he should intervene, since the man standing in front of them clearly had no concern for his own life.

"Maybe we should head inside, you left wit…," before he could finish Greg had started talking again.

"Is that why she left with me the night you proposed to her?" he said with a sly smirk.

"You took her away. She did not want to leave. If it were not for your power she would have stayed with me." James saw the smile disappear from his friend's face. He hated it when others threw his power in his face, except for when he was blatantly using his power to get what he wanted. And though his power got him what he wanted the night he took Annalisa away, James knew that was more out of anger than anything. He would have reacted the same way were he not the heir to the throne, though the outcome may have been different. "She despises you."

Greg's jaw twitched at the man's last comment, and it didn't go unnoticed by James. This confused him a little bit, why was this man or better yet this girl getting to him so badly. He gladly shared his other girls with his friends, so why was he so possessive of this one.

"Get him out of my face," Greg said as he turned to leave.

"What should we do with him your majesty?" one of the guards asked.

"I don't care," he said, "just make sure he doesn't come around here again."

The guards began dragging the man away and Greg continued to walk back to towards the palace doors. But Evan made the mistake of speaking again.

"I will be with her," he yelled out, "no matter what you do."

This made Greg stop in his track. He turned and stared at the man being dragged away, rethinking his previous statement.

"On second thought," he yelled getting the guards attention and causing them to stop, "take him to the prisoners' cell." He stared at the men a little longer and Cecily's mouth fell open. "And prepare for his execution in three days."

This caused Cecily to gasp. She stared at the Greg, waiting for him to continue, to say that this was all a joke, but the man had nothing of humor coming from him. She quickly ran by him and into the castle. She had to tell Lisa what had happened. The horrified look on Evan's face should have made Greg happy, but it did not. He was angry and he wanted nothing more than to beat the life out of the man himself, but that would not be very princely of him. He turned to walk back into the palace with James

"Are you seriously going to have him executed because of the girl?"

"No," he said sternly, causing James to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank God."

"I am going to have him executed because he disobeyed me."

"What? You can't be serious," James said putting his hand on his friend's shoulder, causing him to stop walking and turn to face him. "You are going to take a man's life because of a concubine."

Greg's eyes shifted uneasily away from his friend's. He knew there was really no basis for his actions; he couldn't even justify them to himself.

"Why?" James asked after he saw his friend wasn't going to answer the obvious question without it being asked.

Again he got no answer. "Oh," James said sounding a little panicked. "This isn't good. Don't do this."

"Don't do what?" Greg asked getting a little annoyed by what he had proclaimed to be one of his friend's dramatic episodes.

"Don't anger your parents and disgrace your country for her."

"I am not going to do either of those things."

"You have feelings for her," James finally said.

"No," he deflected. "You have feelings for the little house mother…,"

"Yes I do," James said cutting him off. "But I am not the future King of England."

"And I am not the Bishop of Rome," Greg told him with mock enthusiasm. "Okay, now its your turn to state the obvious."

"This is not funny," James told him.

"Oh, would you calm down," he told him as he began walking again. "I do not have feelings for her."

"Then why are you going to kill him?"

"I told you," he started. "The main is not loyal to his country. He is capable of mutiny. He has to be punished."

James let out a frustrated sigh. He had no other choice but to accept his friend's answer, but he knew that there was more to it than that. He continued to follow his friend and he soon realized that they were heading to the concubines quarters. The guard that had been assigned to the room stepped aside when he saw the two men approaching. Greg nodded, letting the man know he was off this specific assignment, and he walked away before the two men entered the room.

Both the girls had horrified looks on their faces, but Lisa was the only one to approach him.

"Please, you must let him go," she begged. "He won't be a problem anymore."

"You expect me to believe that, after the way you responded to him."

"In what way did I respond to him?" she answered, some of the worry leaving her voice allowing a part of the flippant young woman to re-emerge.

"You pract…," Greg stopped himself as he heard the volume of his voice rise, realizing there were other people in the room. He turned to face James before turning back to Cecily. "Could you give us a moment alone please?"

Cecily just glared at him. He could clearly tell that she possessed some qualities that showed she was kin to the girl standing in front of him.

"Miss," James said holding his hand out to Cecily. She turned her eyes to him and he flashed a charming smile. She placed her hand in his before rising from the bed, rolling her eyes sharply at Greg as she passed by him and exited the room. James closed the door behind them, and Greg turned his attention back to Lisa.

"You would have run straight into his arms if I had not stopped you," he told her, being able to control his temper a little more now. "Would you not have?"

"He called out to me," she started, "he is a friend, I wanted to know what it was that he wanted with me."

"You knew what he wanted, for God's sake. He asked you marry him only a few days ago."

"Yes, he did," she said defiantly, "and you ruined any chances of that ever happening." She turned to walk away from him, but he grabbed her arm making her turn back to him.

They shared an intense glare before she pulled away from him and went to sit on the bed.

"Fine," he said. "He will be gone in a few short days either way, so I won't have to worry about it."

She quickly turned back to him, as the realization again struck her. "You must let him go," she said in a pleading voice. "He did nothing to you."

"He won't stop until he is dead, so I will save him the trouble and hasten his death."

"He will stop," she told him. "Just let me talk to him. I will convince him to leave, he won't come back, I promise."

"I told you, you are never to speak to him again." She just looked at him, anger and fear apparent in her eyes. "And there will be guards at his cell so don't even think about visiting him or trying to run off with him. "

Her eyes filled with water and she turned away from him, letting him know that she was no longer speaking to him. He knew he had won the argument so he turned and left the room.

As she heard the door close, Lisa closed her eyes and let her tears fall silently. She knew it would be different once they got back. She knew he would be different, but she never expected this. And poor Evan, he was being held in a dust floor cellar waiting for someone to come and end his life, all because of her. She couldn't let it end like this for him, she had to do something. She couldn't be the reason that his life came to an end. She was loss deep in her thoughts and her tears that she didn't hear the door open again.

"Lisa," she heard Cecily say softly. She turned and let the girl see her tear stained face. Cecily made her way over to the bed and wrapped her arms around the girl allowing her to cry on her shoulder.

It wasn't until Lisa's tears had started to subside that Cecily noticed something hard pressing against her chest. She hadn't had a chance to notice it since it had been chaotic from the moment she had laid eyes on her cousin. She pulled back a little and her eyes grew big when she saw the hug gem around the girl's neck.

"Lisa," she said pulling back a little more to inspect the jewel closer. "Where did you get this? Is it real?"

She touched it, inspecting it closer. If it wasn't real, it was still one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen.

"I think it is," Lisa said as she too inspected the jewel more closely. The thought of it being fake had never crossed her mind since the Greg was the one who had given it to her.

"How'd you get it?" Cecily asked, finally taking her eyes off of the jewel and looking into her cousin's.

"He gave it to me," she replied with not as much enthusiasm as she had when she told Amelia.

"The prince? He gave you this?" Lisa nodded. "Why?"

"I don't know," she said.

There was a moment of silence as both the girls went back to admiring the jewel.

"What happened between you two out there?" Cecily spoke up.

"What do you mean?" Lisa asked her, not sure at what she was getting at.

"Well did you two," Cecily started, but hesitated. She wasn't sure how to go about approaching this subject since it wasn't one that she was used to talking about. "Did he make you perform your duties?"

Lisa looked back at the jewel and a look of discuss came over her face. "Do you think he gave this to me as payment?"

Cecily's eyes grew wide. That wasn't what she was trying to imply, but she could see how Lisa would jump to that conclusion. She was even more shocked by the subtle confession she had gotten from the girl.

Lisa unclasped the jewel from her neck, not sure if she wanted it anymore. She stared at it for a moment before looking up at Cecily as she began to speak.

"So how was it?" she asked. "Did he force you?"

"No," Annalisa said quietly, her focus still more on the jewel than the question. "Not really."

"So he didn't force you?" Cecily got no answer from the girl, just another question.

"What happened while I was gone? Was Evan okay?"

"Well as you can tell," Cecily started, "he was a little distraught. He tried to find you, but of course no one who would tell him knew where the prince's personal get away is located."

Annalisa turned back to Cecily. "I can't let him die because of me."

"Well what are you going to do?"

Lisa just looked at her. She had to do something, and she had to do it soon. She had to do it that night.

* * *

She hadn't heard any noise coming from outside of her room for the past hour, and she decided that if she was going to help Evan break free, she had better do it sooner than later. She slowly opened her door and looked around. It was fairly dark so she couldn't really see anything. But she was fairly sure if there was a guard, he would have already drawn attention to himself. She slowly stepped out of her room and out into the hallway. She made it to the end of the hall and peeped around the corner, making sure there wasn't anyone that would see her. She started to make her way down that hall until she heard a voice come from behind her.

"Looking for someone?"

She was sure she jumped at least a foot off of the ground, before turning quickly to face the voice. He lit the lantern he had been holding in his hand and she could see his face. She wasn't sure if she was happy it was him or not, being that she was almost startled out of her skin. He had his robe draped around him, and he looked more like the heir to the thrown now, than he had in any of their days at the farmhouse.

"I, I was…I was…looking for Amelia," she said stumbling over her words. "

"Aren't you going in the wrong directions to reach the maid's quarters?" he asked her as he got off of the wall and started to walk towards her. He closed the gap between them in seconds, and she took a step backwards, causing her back to meet the wall. He took another step forward and looked down at her. She didn't say anything as he studied her.

"Where were you going?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

She stared him in the eyes before looking down at the ground. He looked at the wall above her head, his jaw twitching as he tried to calm himself before he spoke.

"What will it take for you to obey me?" he asked her, but both of them knew an answer wasn't to come so he continued. "I give you everything. I buy you expensive gifts…,"

"That wasn't a gift," she told him looking up at him and making him look down at her. "It was payment, for being your whore." She said it with such an icy glare, that it was his turn to be silenced. He wanted to speak, but he could see the hurt behind her anger, and he knew he wanted to choose his words wisely.

"It was not," he started. "It was a gift. I gave it to you because it was nice and I thought you would like it."

"If I had not slept with you, would you still have given it to me?"

He was quiet. He knew he would still have wanted to get it for her rather she had given herself to him or not, but he honestly could not tell where they would be had things played out differently at the farmhouse. So he said the only thing he could, "Yes."

Her expressions softened, as she looked a little more confused .She had expected him to say no, to not answer her, but never a yes. They stood in silence for a moment before she inhaled sharply and moved her eyes to look at his. "Are you going to let me talk to him?"

"No," he said without hesitation.

"Why not? I only want to convince him to leave. "

"You don't need to convince him," he told her. "I will handle it on my own."

He grabbed her wrist as he started to pull her back towards her room. She managed to pull away from his hold as they stopped in front of her door. He turned to look at her with a slightly agitated look on his face. She just rolled her eyes at him as she brushed by him and walked into her room, closing the door in his face.

He sighed. He could not win with this girl it seemed. He opened the door and walked in behind her. She had already climbed into bed and he took his robe off. She stared at him as if the act was strange to her.

"What are you doing?" she asked him.

"What does it look like?" he said as he started to climb into bed with her.

She put her hand against his chest to stop him before he could get entirely in the bed. "If you do not mind," she started, her attitude returning, "I do not wish to keep the company of a cold blooded murderer tonight or any other night."

He looked at her as he turned a little red in the face. He would not do this with her, not tonight, not now, not over the prisoner lying on the dusty floor in the prison. He also would not back track in their relationship further than he already had.

"Fine," he said as he climbed out of the bed. "I have been gone a while, my company would much better be kept with Mary than you anyway."

Had he not turned his back to put his robe on, he would have seen the hurt on her face. But he didn't turn around. "Goodnight," he said roughly before leaving out of the door.

She felt the tears coming to her eyes, which frustrated her. She huffed and fell back on the bed, burying her face in her pillow allowing it to soak up the tears before they had a chance to fall down her face. He made her so angry. She was supposed to be holding fast for Evan. All she wanted was a chance to convince the boy to leave. She didn't feel that she deserved him anymore, so she wasn't going to run away with him. She just wanted him to go away, be safe, and start a family with some other woman who could make him happy, someone who would be his fully. On the other hand, the thought of the prince a few doors down the hall sharing with someone else, let alone someone she despised, the same intimate passion he shared with her only the night before made her blood boil and her heart hurt. She then cursed herself for being so stupid. It was intimate and sacred to her, but she knew it wasn't to him. But she could pretend. He made it hard though when he so freely announced his intentions with the other girls. She cried herself to sleep, anger being the final emotion decided on to take her into unconsciousness.

He stood outside of the room for a little while. He took a few steps towards the other girl's door, but stopped mid stride. He didn't really want to go to Mary tonight. He had only said it to teach Annalisa a lesson, but now that he was actually in route, he realized that he really didn't want to spend the night with her. He cursed under his breath for being so caught up in the stubborn girl in the room. He vowed to himself to get over her, and quickly, before turning on his heals and heading back towards his bedroom.

* * *

The next morning he got up early. His mother had requested breakfast with him, since she hadn't spoken with him over the last few days. After breakfast, he made his way to the concubine's quarters to check on the girl that tested him repetitively. He walked in the room quietly and saw that she was still asleep on her bed. He noticed something else though. He could tell that she had been crying. Her eyes were puffy and the tears shown where they had fallen down her face. He walked over to her, a perplexed look on his face, and knelt beside the bed. He brushed her hair out of her face and suddenly felt guilty. He knew that he had probably been the cause of her tears, well indirectly. She probably had been crying over Evan.

He stroked her cheek and her eyes fluttered open. Her vision finally focused and settled on the intense blue eyes right in front of her. They stared at each other in silence for a few moments before he spoke.

"I'm sorry for waking you," he said softly. They continued to stare at each other and he subconsciously continued to stroke her cheek. This did not escape her, and she figured she might as well give it one more try since he seemed to be in one of his vulnerable state.

"Please," she said softly, "just let me talk to him. I will do nothing more than convince him to leave. I only want to save his life, not run away with him."

He didn't answer her at first and she brought her hand up to his, causing him to stop his motion. "Please," she said quietly.

He stared at her, and nodded slightly. "Okay," he started, "Today, after lunch. "

A small smile formed on her lips "Thank you."

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his in a tender kiss, hoping to reassure him enough that he would not change his mind.

"But I will go with you," he told her after she had pulled back from the kiss.

"Okay," she nodded.

* * *

"Why are there so many prisoners?" she asked with a frown as she eyed the numerous cells that caged the people within them.

"I don't know," he told her. "I do not usually take prisoners. These are my father's prisoners. They are probably thieves and murders, or they've been accused of treason."

"Are they all going to be executed?" she asked, suddenly feeling sorry for the people.

"Probably not," he told her.

She remembered the reason they had come to the prison when she heard one of the guards bang on one of the cell doors.

"You have a visitor," the man said in a gruff voice.

The man opened the door and her eyes immediately saddened when she saw the condition that the once strong and attractive young man had been reduced to. He looked like he had not eaten since they had put him there and he looked weak. He had obviously been beaten. He was covered in dirt from the dust that covered the floor and he was shackled to the wall. He looked exhausted.

"Oh, Evan," she said as she quickly knelt by his side.

It took all of Greg's strength not to grab her and drag her away from the man. He didn't like the affection she showed towards him. But a promise was a promise. He would not break it without good reason.

"Hey," he said as a weak smile came to his face.

She brought her hand up to his cheek and began caressing it. "I thought I would never see you again," he said.

He tried to lean in for a kiss, but Lisa quickly and wisely turned away. She knew that it would surely lead to his death if she allowed him to kiss her, especially in front of the jealous prince standing behind her.

Evan's smile disappeared when he saw that Lisa had just rejected his kiss.

"What's wrong?" he asked with a worried look on his face.

"Evan," she began as her eyes welled with tears. "You have to go. You have to leave and stay away from here."

His smile returned. "Is he letting me go?" he asked. She nodded, smiling at his happiness. "That's great," he continued. "Now we can leave and get married." Her smile disappeared. Clearly he did not understand the just of what she was telling him. "We can have the family that you always wanted and," he continued talking but she did not hear him. Her head dropped at the mention of the family they were supposed to have together. She wanted that so badly, but it was completely out of her grasp now.

She saw Greg shift anxiously in her peripheral at the mention of marriage and the family, and she held back the rest of her tears. She had a job to do. She had to convince Evan to leave to save his life.

"Lisa," she heard Evan call to her, "what's wrong? Was it something I said?"

She reluctantly looked into his eyes. "Evan I can't go with you," she told him. "I am no longer able to be married. I am his now."

"No," Evan said softly as he began shaking his head slightly. "No," he said more loudly. "You bastard," he yelled turning to Greg, "what did you do to her?"

Lisa turned to Greg and saw his jaw clench slightly. She knew what that meant, and re focused her attention on calming Evan so she could further convince him to leave.

"Evan," she called to him for the fifth time. He finally turned his attention to her.

"I don't care Anna," he told her. "I still want to marry you. We can still be together."

"No," she said. "We can't, I have to stay here. You can find someone else."

"But I don't want anyone else," he told her. "You and I were meant to be toge…,"

"No," she told him. "You and I can no longer be. If you love me, you'll leave here and never come back."

"You don't mean that," he told her.

"Yes, I do," tears came to her eyes, "I don't want to marry you Evan. I don't love you anymore," she lied.

"Lisa?" he asked, the hurt obvious in his voice. "You don't mean that."

"Yes," she told him convincingly, "I do. What we had was a long time ago. And I realized that I don't love you anymore."

"It's him…,"

"He gave me my freedom," she continued to lie. "He told me I was free to be with you, but I realized… I don't want to."

They stared at each other for a little while, Lisa trying to maintain a strong front while Evan stared in disbelief. "I am doing this for you as a friend," she continued, "you should leave. You should not lose your life over me because I don't love you." He opened his mouth to speak, but she stopped him.

"Promise me you'll leave and never come back," she told him.

Still in a state of shock, disbelief, and hurt, Evan nodded slowly. "Okay," he stuttered. "I'll leave. If that's what you want, I'll leave you alone."

She smiled, realizing that the boy was going to take the out she had created for him. "Thank you," she said before placing a chaste kiss on his cheek.

She got up from where she knelt beside him and had to regain her composure. She felt the break down about to come, but could not let it happen until she got back to her room. She stopped in front of Greg and looked up at him.

"He is leaving," she told him. "You don't have to worry about him anymore. You can let him go."

She then began to walk briskly in the way which they had come, in a hurry to get back to her room. Greg stared after her with a frown, having seen the expression on her face when she got up and left Evan. He looked back to the man that sat on the floor, shackled to the wall. He was a little bit jealous of the man, and there was only one reason that he would be. He quickly brushed the feeling aside and turned to the guard.

"Take him somewhere far away from here and let him go," he said before following the path that Annalisa had just taken out of the prison.

* * *

A/N: I hope you liked it. Don't forget to review and suggest. I need suggestions now more than ever. I have an idea of what I want to do, but I need some interesting stuff to go in between. If I just jump to what I want to do, the story will seem rushed...well I think anyways.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Are there really any words? To answer the questions I remember. The waterfall is on royal property, they just never got caught on the property. Some of the really wealthy people owned land that they could distribute and that's all I remembered to answer for now I have to go back and look for the other questions.

* * *

She walked into the dinning room, not with the usual fear that she had, but still not wanting to anger or stir the vultures that resided within. She sat down at her usual spot at the table next to Geiselle. They began talking and everything seemed to be going well, or as well as could be expected until Geiselle noticed the jewel around her neck. She had started wearing it again. Knowing that it was indeed meant to be a gift and not payment, made her want to wear it again. She needed something to hold close, to feel like someone cared after what had just happened with Evan and being separated from her family. And though she wasn't sure if he cared, she could still pretend. She figured living in a pretend world would be better than living in the reality she had been given, not so fortunate for her, Mary was about to try to bring that reality crashing down on her.

"Where did you get that," Geiselle asked, lifting the jewel from its hiding space under her clothes. "Is it real?"

"Yeah, I think so," Lisa said with a weak smile. She was still upset about Evan, but was trying to move forward, knowing that she had at least spared the man's life.

"Who give it to you?" Geiselle continued. "Was it Evan? You didn't tell me he was rich."

"He's not rich," Annalisa replied, removing the emerald from Geiselle's hand. She was going to tuck it back into her dress, but it caught Mary's eyes before she could. "And he did not give it to me."

"Surely the prince did not give it to you," Mary said with a snooty attitude, causing both Annalisa and Geiselle to look up at her. As they did, all the other eyes in the room turned to them as everyone grew quiet.

Lisa just rolled her eyes at her and did not answer. Mary continued.

"Surely he does not know you are accepting gifts from other men."

Tired of hearing Mary's mouth and knowing she would not stop, Lisa decided to speak. "It is not a gift from another man."

"So the prince gave it to you?" Mary said with a rye smirk.

"Yes," Lisa replied curtly, not trying to hide the annoyance in her voice.

"Well surely then, it must not be real."

Again Lisa didn't answer her, choosing to let her believe what she wanted.

"Let me see that," Mary said getting up to make her way to the other end of the table where Lisa sat.

"No," Lisa replied, looking at her as if she was mad. Mary continued towards her and when she reached her hand forward to snatch the jewel, she knocked it away.

"I said let me see it," she said in a more stern voice, reaching for it again. Annalisa grabbed her arm firmly.

"I said no," she said just as sternly.

The scowl on Mary's face suddenly turned into another smirk as she took a step back. "Well well, look who thinks they're a woman now that she has finally laid with a man." She leaned forward so her face was closer to Lisa's. "Don't get too excited, you are still and will always be second to me. And today you sent away the only man that will ever want you, so you can forget about that little family I heard you talking about. You are just a common whore to the prince, that is what the skins are for."

Lisa's face turned to one of confusion. "What skins?" she asked clearly not having a clue as to what Mary was talking about.

"The skins he uses when he sleeps with you," Geiselle replied nonchalantly as she turned back to her food, figuring Mary had vented herself out for the evening.

Lisa's face turned from one of confusion to fear. He had used no skins with her. She looked up at Mary who was still standing in front of her, her face turning red as the anger in her eyes grew. She had read Lisa's expressions and knew exactly what she was thinking. She turned quickly and went back to her seat at the other end of the table. She was upset and didn't speak to anyone the rest of dinner.

Lisa quietly got up from her seat, still a little dazed by her new realization. From her knowledge of medicine she knew that skins were worn during the act when wealthy men did not wish to conceive, but being new to the whole thing, it had never crossed her mind.

"Where are you going?" Geiselle asked her.

"I think I'm going to be sick," she said quietly as she left the room. She made her way back to her room, only leaving to take her bath, and hoped that she would not soon be birthing the bastard child of the feature King of England. Luckily for her, she was left to her own thoughts and he did not bother to pay her a visit that night. She figured it was probably because of the ordeal that had occurred between Evan, her, and himself earlier that day.

* * *

"What does he want to see me about? " Greg asked as he followed James down the corridor to the room where his father resided.

"Your guess is as good as mine," James replied. "You know when he says he wants to talk to you, he usually doesn't tell me what its about before hand," he finished in a sarcastic tone.

Greg just looked at him as they stopped in front of the huge double doors. He walked in and put on a smile that his father knew was fake.

"You wanted to see me father?" he spoke in a tone that his father knew was too respectful to truly be of his son.

"Yes," he replied all the same. "The Duke, you are to leave in two weeks to visit him for a hunting trip and their annual festival."

"Really?" Greg replied and a tone that his father finally recognized as his own. "I do not remember agreeing to this."

"Well I agreed to it," his father said sternly. "You will go, and you will not disgrace your country. Do you understand?"

"It would have been nice if you would have consulted me about this first."

"I am your father, I am the king. I do not have to consult with you before making decisions. You on the other hand should before you go around ordering executions for people because of a concubine."

Greg's face dropped. Who had told him about that. Sure he would have found out, after it had happened, but since it had not happened, he saw no reason why his father would find out about it. It was hard to keep anything a secret around the palace, he thought.

"You need to focus more on your priorities and less on that girl. If I hear she is causing anymore trouble, I will personally send her back to her family, and she will not be allowed her anymore."

"She did not cause any trouble to begin with," Greg started. "It was the man, he was the one that defied me."

"If you had just let him have the girl, it would not have come down to this. You continue to make decisions based on that girl. Your priority is the throne, your country. You have to maintain your integrity and the fact that half of the country knows about your little tantrum you threw over her does not…"

"Half of the country does not know about this," he told his father, the man was clearly over exaggerating.

"That is not my point," the man thundered, knowing his son was being a smart ass. "My point is people should not be coming to me with the concern that their future king will be giving up the throne for some little farm girl. Or the ridiculous notion that she will one day be their Queen."

Greg smiled at the thought. It was fun to see his father all worked up and he knew that the people who brought these things up were none other than his father's snotty friends. It would be kind of fun to see all of their faces though if he could tell them that Annalisa would be their new Queen and they would all be serving her.

The king read the look on his son's face and he did not like the sly smirk that was there. If his son was in fact thinking what he thought he was thinking, it would only happen over his dead body.

"You are to marry the young duchess," he told him. "She is to be your Queen, no one else. You will go and you will impress her father. He will not find out about your little episodes and there will be no more incidents with this girl from now on for him to find out about. There will be an alliance with Spain, you owe that to your country, as you will be her king. Is that understood?"

He did not answer his father, but the scowl on his face told everything as he turned to walk away. The king knew that an agreement had been reached between he and his son. And although he wasn't sure the boy was mature enough to run the country, he knew that he loved her enough and would never do anything to purposefully disgrace her.

"Well that was rather," James paused as he searched for the right word, "uneventful."

Greg just looked at him. "What am I to do?" he asked. "I do not wish to be played as someone's puppet, but I also do not wish to fail my country."

James nodded, knowing that no matter how rebellious his friend was he would do whatever he felt was right in his heart.

"Have you talked to the girl?" James asked. After the last word left his mouth, he could feel his friend's whole demeanor change.

"No," he replied quickly.

"You know Cecily said she wasn't too upset about Evan leaving. Well she was quite upset, but she expected a whole lot more off…,"

"Who is Cecily?" Greg asked, cutting James off.

He just rolled his eyes, knowing good and well he knew who Cecily was, and that was just his way of deflecting and avoiding having to talk about his feelings for the girl. After he saw that James wasn't going to indulge him, he began speaking again.

"Oh, the house mom? You and she seemed to be getting really close."

"Yeah," James said. "I think she may be the one."

Greg stopped walking and James turned quickly to see what was stopping their progress. "Don't be silly."

"How do you mean?" James asked.

"So you can marry the house mom, but I can't get a little chummy with her cousin."

"Her name is Cecily and as I said before, I am not the heir to the throne."

"Oh, so because I am the heir to the throne, I have to keep my feelings in check about her."

"Yes," James said in an obvious tone, "and it's nice to see that you are admitting to having feelings for her."

Greg rolled his eyes and continued down the corridor.

* * *

"Come in," Cecily answered the knock on her door as she sat at the small mirror pinning her hair up.

James poked his head in. "Are you ready?" He asked. He had finally gotten up the courage to ask the girl to go somewhere with him, away from everyone else. To his surprise, she had smiled and said yes.

"Just give me a couple of more seconds," she told him, as he stepped into the room. "Sorry I'm not ready."

"It is quite alright," he said as he stood behind her. He smiled at her. She really was beautiful and was glad that his friend hadn't sat his sight on her. He sighed when he thought about his friend and the trouble he was getting himself into with the girl. He would undoubtfully end up in the mess with him, he always did.

"I'm ready," Cecily said standing up with a smile. The man did not seem to hear her though as he was lost in his own thoughts. "Are you okay?" she asked placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh," he said shaking his thoughts away. "Yes, I'm fine. " He sat down in the chair and she could tell that something is wrong.

"Well you obviously are not fine," she told him. "Tell me. What is wrong?"

"It's nothing," he said standing again. "Are you ready?"

Her brows furrowed at him. She really liked him, and though it may not have been her business, she didn't like being lied too. She wanted to know, she wanted to help him. She had taken quite a liking to him.

"Something is obviously wrong," she told him, not taking the hand he had offered to her.

He looked at her and opened his mouth, knowing she wanted him to tell her, but thought better of it and turned away. He probably should tell her, she could probably help, maybe. He turned back to face her and she was still looking at him. She arched her eyebrow, letting him know that if he did not tell her, their outing would not be as pleasant as it could be.

He sighed, "It's the prince."

"What about the prince?" she asked growing a little concerned. She didn't know why, he had managed to make her angry quite a bit as of late. "Is he ill?"

"No," he said, then thought about it. "Unless you count love sick as an illness."

"How do you mean?"

"Your cousin," James started again. "I think he is getting too close to her."

Cecily smiled. She was happy that someone saw what she was seeing. "And why is that upsetting to you?"

"Because," he started loudly, as if it was obvious, "he is the prince."

"And?" she asked taking a step closer to him. "I am quite sure that they are both aware of that."

"He is digging a hole for himself. He is to inherit the throne from his father shortly, and marry the Duchess, Anastacia. He cannot go frolicking around with the likes of that girl."

Cecily's face twisted into an expression of anger and hurt. "Excuse me Mr. Wilson," she told him in a tone that made him turn to face her again, "but my cousin and I are just as good as you and your prince, and this Duchess you speak off, no matter what you or anyone else may think."

"Oh no, I did not mean it like that?" he tried to explain, but the girl was already defensive, it was not much he could say that wouldn't be taken in the wrong way now.

"Well how did you mean it?" she said giving him a stern look.

"I only meant that he would not be permitted to be with someone of such a low class," he regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth.

"Good day, Mr. Wilson," Cecily said as she walked pass him.

The fact that she was using his last name should have told him that there was nothing more to talk about, but he had to try to explain.

"Cecily I…," he tried but she cut him off.

"Good day Mr. Wilson," she said more coldly.

He stood and looked at her as she sat at the mirror. He sighed and then turned to leave, how could he have been so stupid he thought. She waited until the door was closed before she let the tears fall. Maybe she and Lisa was wrong, they had thought that he was more kind than the rest of the upper class people who hung around the palace, but he was not. When he looked at them, all he saw was their class. She felt a twinge in her heart and realized that she had unknowingly developed feelings for him. How could she have been so stupid? She needed to go and talk to her cousin.

* * *

"Did she try to destroy your manhood with her knee?"

"No," James said looking at his friend with a confused look on his face. He had just finished telling him what had happened between him and Cecily, and so far he didn't see the connection between that and the question.

"Well trust me, it could have been worse."

He just stared at the prince. Sometimes he wondered what went on between him and Annalisa, but thought better and decided not to ask. Maybe it was best if he didn't know. "You are no help," he said getting up from the table. "I am going to talk to someone who can help."

"Just make sure you protect your manhood," Greg told him as he got up from the table, knowing he was going to talk to Annalisa.

James shook his head and headed towards the girl's room. He stopped short when he saw her in the courtyard playing with the children. He made his way down there and walked over to her.

"Hello Annalisa."

"Oh," she said turning around at the mention of her name. "Hello James. "

"May I have a word with you, alone?"

She just looked at him, knowing what he probably wanted to speak with her about. Cecily had come to her a couple of days ago and told her what had happened. The truth was that the man had spoken a truth that had rocked her and her cousin from their fantasy worlds. She knew that the prince could not be with her, that it was a fantasy of hers, but it seemed as though she was not even allowed to have that fantasy. Well at least she was not pregnant with his child.

"Sure," she said as she took the arm he had offered her. They walked over to a nearby bench and sat down. After he hesitated to start, she figured she should nudge him along.

"What is it that you want to talk to me about?"

"It's about Cecily," he started. "She is upset with me."

"What about?" she asked fanning ignorance.

He opened his mouth, but hesitated figuring how he wanted to approach the situation. No matter how off the wall his friend's comments seemed to be, they stuck around in his mind. "I said some things I shouldn't have said."

"What things?" she asked with furrowed brows.

"That's not important," he said after not coming up with an eloquent way to phrase what he had said.

"Well how can I fix something when I do not know what I am fixing?"

He stared at her before looking away. "I said some things, that may not have been so nice about the two of you," he started but tapered off. He looked down, and he could tell that he regretted what he had said and that he was embarrassed by it.

She decided to put him out of his misery. "I know what you said," she told him. He looked at her as his eyes grew and his mouth fell open. His face turned red and he stammered over his words to try to explain.

"There is no need to explain," she told him. They sat in silence for a while, before he spoke again.

"I'm sorry," he told her. "You and your family have been nothing but kind to me. I do not have the right to judge you so harshly."

"No you do not," she reassured him.

He let out a sigh. "I meant to offend neither of you, but the country would not approve of a relationship between you and the prince. You simply cannot fall in love. "

"We are not in love," Lisa said sounding offended.

James just looked at her. 'Do I really have anything to worry about?' he thought. How would a real courtship ever work between them? They were both too stubborn to even admit their feelings for one another. But he honestly didn't think that would stop them from being together.

"Why would you think that?" Lisa asked after he was quiet for a while.

"I don't know," he started. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply…"

"It seems you are implying a lot of things you don't mean to lately," she said as she turned back to look at the children playing nearby. But James didn't miss the slight blush that had risen in her face at the mention of the prince and her relationship. He smiled and stared at the ground. His smile disappeared when he realized what their conversation had been about from the beginning. He really needed to fix things with Cecily, and fast.

"I will talk to her," Lisa said turning back to him, as if reading his mind. She still didn't think that James was a bad man. And she could not punish him for trying to say what she herself had been thinking and had known all along.

A smile came to his face as he rose from the bench. "Thank you."

"I cannot promise anything," she said standing also, "but it would help if you could keep your foot out of your mouth for a while and try not to imply anything."

He smiled at her. "I will try," he told her.

She stared at him for a moment, in thought, before she spoke. "You know, maybe if you watch the company you keep you would be better suited to not say something offending every time you open your mouth."

He knew what particular big mouth prince she was talking about and could not help but to laugh. "I will try," he told her. "You know you really are a good friend."

She smiled at him as he turned to leave. She and the man had grown close by merely being around each other all the time. Either it was her with Greg or him with Cecily, but they seemed to be around each other a lot. Now all she had to do was convince her cousin that seemed to be very upset with this man to give him another chance.

She turned to go back and join the children but there was an obstacle in her way.

"Umph," she said as her body collided with his.

"Hello?" he said with a huge smile on his face. She just glared at him. "You know it's not nice to talk about people when they are not around to defend themselves."

"You were spying on us?" she asked him, a little offended.

"I was not," he told her. "I just wanted to see what would become of this mess that James has made for himself. If you ask me, I don't think it's going to work anyway," he said looking off in the direction James had just walked off.

"Well it is a good thing it is not up to you to decide. No courtship would ever work with you," she told him, "this is why you have a prearranged marriage."

He held his hand to his heart, pretending as if she had wounded him before smiling down at her. She blew out an exasperated breath and walked around him to get back to the children and the other girls who had began to make snow angels.

* * *

"Where is she?" Greg asked the guard on the floor.

"She has not returned from the washroom yet," he informed him.

He forgot that he had shown up earlier than usual tonight. It was probably because he wanted to annoy her more than anything. He nodded at the man before heading towards the washroom he knew she usually used. He knocked on the door, and when he opened it to find two sets of eyes on him. One belonged to the girl he was seeking, the other to her maid.

"May I help you?" she asked him as she held on to the book she was reading.

He turned to Amelia and excused the girl. He waited until the girl was gone before he began to undress.

"What are you doing?" she asked him with a furrowed brow.

"Your water looks soothing," he told her as he walked over to the bathtub. She looked away still not comfortable in having him standing bare in front of her. He stepped in behind her and without saying a word she slide forward allowing him to get in behind her. He sat down and began to play with the sponge as if he was a child and it was a new toy to him. He stopped when he noticed her eyes on him.

"Well don't let me stop you," he started, before nodding to the book in her hand. "I like stories too."

She rolled her eyes at him and tried to adjust herself into a more comfortable position so she could continue reading. The tub was big enough for the both of them; she just had to find a comfortable position. Before she could turn away from him, he grabbed her by her waist and pulled her back between his legs, so that his back was against the back of the tub and her back was against his chest.

She looked at him waiting on an explanation. He only stretched his eyes before simply replying, "I said I like stories too."

She rolled her eyes at him before facing forward and beginning to read the book again. At first she didn't lean back all the way, a little upset with him for intruding on her bath. She couldn't sit up all the way because he still had his arm around her waist so she wouldn't stray too far, and by the time he finished asking her questions about the beginning of the book, so he could have a better insight to what he was now reading in the middle of it, her back had began to hurt and she had half consciously relaxed into him. Her head lay on his left shoulder as she tried to turn the page. He put his hand on hers to stop her.

"I'm not finished reading," he told her. She let out a sigh, he had been doing that for the last couple of pages, and she was sure he was just doing it to annoy her. Still, she obliged him. When he began taking too long, she spoke up.

"Can you not read faster?"

"This book is boring," he told her as he took it from her hand and dropped it on the floor.

She began to pull away from him to get the book and scold him, but he quickly wrapped his arms around her waist again, holding her close to him. "I'd much rather hear the one you started telling me the night William tried to kill me."

She could not help but to smile at his nonchalant acknowledgment of his near death experience. She also knew that he despised William, just as much if not more than she did. And though the man scared her, she knew she was protected as long as Greg was around. She was starting to feel that way a lot lately. She had not felt this secure with someone since her father had passed. A more somber smile came to her face as she remembered the story she had been telling him that night, before the fever over took him and he fell asleep on her.

She continued where she remembered leaving off and they both laughed at some of the things that she told him, and he asked questions about some of the thing he felt she had not explained well enough for him. He noticed how she grew quiet when she came to the part about her father dying and he pulled her closer to his chest as she continued to talk.

After she stopped speaking, he unconsciously placed a kiss on the top of her head. She smiled and turned to look at him. He looked down at her before leaning down and pressing his lips to her. She shivered and pulled away from him, giggling a little.

"I would like to think that was me," he said noticing for the first time that the water had gotten cold. She smiled at him again noticing it too. "Maybe we should get out before we catch a cold." He got out and handed her the towel, before opening the door and retrieving his clothes he had ordered the guard to go and get for him. The guard gave a disapproving look and looked away as the bare prince opened the door. He was used to this and unfazed, having worked at the castle since the man was a young boy.

They both got dressed and he walked her back to her room. "Well goodnight," he told her before he turned to leave. He stopped however when he felt her hands grab onto his. He looked back to find her staring sweetly at him.

"Stay with me tonight," she asked him. She didn't know why, but she had rather enjoyed his company tonight. He had been very pleasant to be around and she wanted him around now. She didn't feel like being alone and though she could have gone to Cecily's room, she rather liked the way his body felt laying next to hers, especially on a cold winter night, like tonight.

He looked at her with a small smirk on his face and a pensive look. She opened the door and tugged on his hand, and he willingly allowed her to lead him inside.

* * *

A/N: Again sorry for the wait. Summer break is coming and I should be able to update more. I know I changed Anastacia back to a duchess but that's because I started her off like that and was going back and forth between the idea and decided on dutchess, it will make for more canivary later, and no, I don't know if canivary is a real word but you know what I am saying. Sigh...I am going to bite the bullet and ask you to review even though I've been gone since forever. I really feel off with writing this one and will try to get back into the feel of things and I am asking you to guide me so please...review.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Wooohhoooo! Faster update than last time.

* * *

"So I heard you were seen coming from the servants' quarters this morning," the king said, as he and his wife sat across from their son at the breakfast table. He only looked up at him shortly before returning to his food and then replying.

"I heard that Alfred was seen coming from the kitchen," he said making his mother smile. Alfred was their head cook.

The king sighed unapprovingly. "It might be best if you stay away from that girl for a while. Until you can get over this 'thing' you seemed to have developed for her. I told you…," he started again but was cut off by his son.

"I do not have a 'thing' for her. And I was not with her," he lied.

"Oh, really?" The king started. "Well then, who were you with?"

"I left something there last night and I went back to retrieve it, so you can tell your little spy to get his facts straight before he reports back to you," Greg said rising from his chair before his father could say anything further. It wasn't that he cared if his father knew where he was, it was the fact that the man thought he had the ability to chastise him over what he did and whom he did it with. If he was going to try to control him, then he was going to lie to him. He knew that that would anger his father. He mumbled a good bye to his mother before exiting the room.

"Who is this girl you two are speaking of?" the Queen asked

"The girl who he let sleep in his bed."

This didn't surprise the Queen at all. She had heard much about this girl but had never met her. She knew her son had just lied about being with the girl the night before, solidifying in her mind that he was in fact infatuated with her. She turned back to her husband as he mumbled something, obviously upset about the conversation he had just had with their son, as he got up and left the room. She wanted to meet this girl.

"Henry," she said making the man turn his attention towards her.

"Yes Your Highness?" he said in a polite tone.

"Do you know who this girl is?" She knew he had heard the conversation. Henry was always eves dropping, and often was her source of information for things going on around the place.

"Yes Your Highness."

"Go and get her," she continued. "I want to speak with her."

* * *

Annalisa had just finished dressing. Her mother was supposed to bringi Emma and Alice to visit with her and Cecily today. She had just finished pinning her hair up when she heard a knock at the door.

"Come in," she said as she stood from the chair in front of the mirror and turned towards the door.

She smiled when she saw Henry, thinking the prince had sent for her. Henry was a nice older gentleman that had been kind to her and Cecily ever since they had arrived at the palace. As far as she could tell, it was just his nature, he was a kind soul.

"The Queen would like a word with you miss," he stated pleasantly.

The smile fell from her face. "The Queen?" she asked, as her heart rate sped up.

"Yes," Henry told her. He could read the anxiety all over her face. "Do not be scared," he reassured her, "she is not nearly as harsh as her husband."

"What does she want with me?" Annalisa asked. She did not remember doing anything that would have gotten her in trouble.

"I don't know," he said truthfully, "but she does not seem upset. I don't believe you have any reason to worry."

Annalisa just stared at him, not knowing if to take his word or not. She nodded before beginning towards the door. She could only hope that this was not her summon to be punished for getting a little too cozy with the prince. But wasn't that what she was there for. Maybe she was getting a little too close to him. Though she knew that she was not the sole focus of the prince's attention at night, it did not escape her that he spent a little more time with her than he did the rest of the girls. Worrisome thoughts plagued her mind as she followed Henry through the palace. She took a deep breath when they stopped in front of a set of huge double doors. Henry looked back at her and she exhaled deeply, letting him know that she was ready. He smiled at her and opened the door.

She stepped in, not being able to hear anything besides her heart beating in her ear. She searched the room and her eyes fell upon an extremely well dressed older woman whose eyes were focused intently on her. The woman had dark brown hair that was pinned up in a grandiose style, and a few wrinkles were starting to show on her face. This only somehow seemed to add wisdom to her beauty instead of making her look old. She didn't wear a scowl, Annalisa observed, as her son and husband often did, and she did not look angry. She was shook from her thoughts as the woman stood from her chair and began to walk over to her.

The woman stopped a few feet in front of her and Annalisa curtsied while giving a polite "Your Highness." She then stood again, but kept her head down, trying not to make eye contact with the woman. She did not want to be yelled at and threatened again as she had been with the King.

There were a few moments of silence before the Queen spoke, her tone and actions reassuring Annalisa that she was not upset with her. "Look up child," she began as she placed her hand on Annalisa's chin tilting the girl's head up towards her. "How do you expect me to get a better look at you if you are hiding your face?"

Annalisa's brows furrowed at the comment. Was that why she was here? So the Queen could get a better look at her?

The Queen studied the girl. She was a very beautiful girl. If she gave her a dress and some jewelry, no one would have guessed the girl was from a lower class status. Not that class status made anyone beautiful. She had seen a lot of upper class people that had wanted their daughters to marry her son. She was glad that his marriage was already prearranged, she didn't want unattractive grandchildren.

She looked into the woman's eyes as they searched the features of her face. They were a dark blue color, but seemed to hold a lot of warmth in them. The woman took her hand from her chin and stared at her a little longer before she spoke.

"What is going on between you and my son?" she asked boldly. Annalisa admired this woman, she had an heir of confidence about her that the rest of the upper class seemed to have, but she also seemed to have an inviting quality that most of them did not seem to share. Still, she was not at ease with this situation at all.

"N-No- Nothing," she started, a little scared and confused and scared.

"Come now," she replied. "There must be something going on, if he is willing to take on his father over it."

Annalisa looked back down again, not being able to hold the confident gaze of the older woman. "I'm sorry your highness," she started shakily, "I do not know what you want me to say. I know of nothing going on between the prince and I. "

The older woman observed the girl a little longer until her eyes fell on the roped chain that hung around her neck. She reached for the necklaces and the girl jumped a little but realized the woman was only trying to get a better look at the jewel that hung from her neck. She toyed with it a little while, observing it before she spoke.

"Who gave you this?" the woman asked.

The girl hesitated, not sure how the woman would react to the answer. She was beginning to get nervous again. "The prince," she said quietly.

The woman studied her eyes a little before returning her gaze back to the jewel. She had never known her son to give such expensive gifts to anyone other than her. Sure he had given the other girl jewels but none of them were real. This was one of the larger ones he bought, and it was real.

The Queen studied her for a few moments. She watched as the girl began to squirm uncomfortably under her gaze. Either the girl was telling the truth, or she was oblivious to her son's growing infatuation towards her. She then got an idea. She wanted to gauge the girls' feelings towards her son.

"Come with me," she said as she began to walk swiftly to another set of double doors. Annalisa quickly followed, not wanting to disobey and anger the Queen. When she walked into the room, she quickly noticed the larger pictures that lined the wall and the different pieces of art work placed throughout.

It was a beautiful room with beautiful things. She stood admiring the view before the Queen snapped her back to reality. "Are you coming?" she asked, now standing by a new set of door. Annalisa followed her through the doors into a room she quickly recognized as a portrait room for past and present royalty. The woman did not focus on any of the pictures on the wall, but instead on one that rested on a canvas holder. It was a painting of a beautiful girl with warm brown eyes and long brown hair that seemed to match her own in color.

"Do you know who this is?" The Queen asked.

"I'm sorry," Annalisa replied. "I cannot say that I do?"

"This," the Queen started intently watching Annalisa's face, "is Duchess Anastacia. My son is to marry her."

She watched as the girls face softened a little, fear leaving her and sadness starting to show on her face.

"The wedding has already been arranged and plans are being made for the ceremony. You do know that nothing can become of whatever is going on between you and my son?"

The girl just kept her head down and nodded slightly, before speaking more softly than she had before. "Yes, Your Highness, I understand. But as I said, I know of nothing going on between your son and I."

The Queen studied the girl's demeanor a little more before dismissing her. She curtsied and hurried from the room, the Queen still being able to see the saddened look on her face. The Queen let out a breath she had probably been holding since she had made the realization that this girl too had feelings for her son. She hoped that whatever was going on between them would quickly die out and that they would be able to avoid the consequences that were sure to come if it did not. She knew her son. He was stubborn and he wanted what he wanted. If he felt strongly enough about this girl, he would not be pushed into another marriage so easily. She sighed, knowing that she could not whole heartedly disapprove of his choice either. She knew that the decision he would make would be based on what he felt was right in his heart, and she could not ask him to go against everything she had tried to instill in him and ask him to be unhappy to fulfill the desires of her and his father. He was her child, and all she wanted was for him to be happy.

* * *

"Guess what?" Emma said as soon as she got through the door. She didn't give Annalisa or Cecily a chance to answer. "Thomas and Sarah are having a baby. We're going to be aunts."

A smile instantly came to both Annalisa and Cecily's face.

"You can't keep your big mouth shut can you," Alice told Emma. "I said I wanted to tell them."

"Well you were taking to long," Emma said as she and Alice started to go back and forth.

Margery just smiled as the two older girls made their way towards her and began bombarding her with questions about the newest edition to their family.

"We must come and visit," Cecily told Margery.

"Yes, you must," Margery replied with a smile, also excited about her first grandchild. "We will make plans later, but now I must get to work." She issued a warning to Emma and Alice to stay out of trouble and made her way down to the labor floors.

The girls stayed in the room and continued talking about their new niece or nephew. It was going fine until the subject of having their own families came up.

"I cannot wait to get married and have a family of my own," Emma said standing up. "Victor and I…,"

"Victor?" she was stopped by the outburst from the other three girls in the room.

She began to blush a little, but stood her ground, getting a little defensive. "Yes, that is what I said."

"Are you talking about Allwright boy?" Cecily asked.

"Yes. Why do you have a problem with that?"

The other three girls shared a knowing smile which served to only make Emma blush more and get more defensive. "What are you smiling about?"

"Nothing," Lisa said quickly, knowing it was just probably a teenage crush that her sister was having.

Emma made her way over to the Armour and began to look through her sisters clothes after her embarrassing slip.

"Well I'm going to marry the prince," Alice said after a while, with an heir of arrogance. "And we are going to have three children."

Cecily didn't miss the sad look that came over Lisa's face as Alice continued. "It won't be long before he falls in love with me."

"I thought he would fall in love with you the first time he saw you?" Cecily told her sister with a smile.

"He probably did," she said. "He just hasn't recognized it yet."

"I doubt that is the problem Alice," Cecily started. "Besides, he is too blinded by Annalisa to notice anyone else right now."

Cecily was trying to cheer her up, but it was not working. Her brother, her sister, and both her cousins would get to live her dream life, while she would be alone for the rest of her life. She gave a weak smile and decided to engage Cecily.

"What about you Sis," she started, "Are you going to marry James Wilson and have beautiful brown eyed babies."

Cecily's smile quickly turned into a scowl. "That is not funny Annalisa," she started. "I would never marry someone as arrogant and pompous as he is."

"I thought you liked him," Emma said in a surprised tone.

"He is an idiot," Cecily said.

"He is a man," Annalisa said. "Tell me Cecily, why do you want me to have feelings for the Prince after all that he has done, but you do not want to forgive James for what he has done."

"I am through with this conversation," Cecily said as she stood from the bed. "If you need me I will be in my room."

With that she left the room. Annalisa could not help but to smile, before she began getting questions from her sister and cousin about what had happened between Cecily and James.

* * *

She panted heavily as his lips left hers, her hands on his wrists as he lifted her so she was sitting on top of the dresser in her room. She wanted to stop him, to ask him, but she was nervous about broaching the subject. His mouth went to her neck and his hands slipped further up her gown. She felt him dip his fingers into the waistband of her panties before cupping her bottom in his palms, lifting her up and skillfully removing her them. She watched as he tossed them across the room and they landed on her bed. She felt his hands snake between them and he unbuttoned his trousers. She had to say something. She closed her eyes tightly before starting, "Wait."

He ignored her and continued kissing her neck and face. She felt his erection against her inner thigh and she scooted back on the dresser to keep him from entering her. "Greg," she tried again, but it was no use. She did the only thing she could to get his attention when he was in this type of mood. She placed her hands on the side of his face and made him look her in the eyes.

"I said wait," she told him.

"What is wrong?" he said as he leaned forward to place another kiss on her lips. She moved her head back to keep him from making contact.

His facial expression grew confused at her actions. "What?" he asked again.

She had to say something now. They had already had sex a few times after she came to the realization that they weren't using any protection. She had been too nervous to say anything, but she had to say something sooner or later.

Her eyes looked away from his as she opened her mouth to speak. "Don't you have any protection?" she asked. He didn't respond right away and she couldn't help but to look at him to gauge his response.

He was even more confused than before, but a smirk came to his face. She shifted uncomfortably not sure if to be more relaxed with the subject or if he was about to mock her.

"What are you talking about?" he asked her.

"Skins," she told him.

"Yeah, I have them," he said as he gripped her thighs and slid her back to the edge of the dresser. His mouth found her neck again and she shrugged him off, this time getting a little upset about him not answering her question.

"Well aren't you going to use them?" she asked him as he looked up at her after she didn't allow him to continue kissing her.

"What for?" he asked, getting a little impatient.

"Because you use them with everyone else," she said in disbelief of his attitude towards the subject.

"Yes I do," he told her. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I cannot take the risk of having a child with you," she said pushing him further away.

"I didn't realize that was a risk," he said making her role her eyes at him. She hopped down from the dresser and was about to walk away, but he pressed his body against her pinning her to the dresser. "I thought you wanted children.

"I did," she told him, not really registering the weight of what he was saying, "with my husband."

She tried to walk away but he grabbed her by her waist and placed her back on top of the dresser.

"It'll be fine," he said hoarsely as he gripped her thighs, spreading them, "nothing will happen."

He placed a quick kiss on her lips and before she had a chance to get her rebuttal out, he penetrated her roughly, causing her to let out a small whimper before her nails dug into the flesh of his arms. She buried her face in his neck, as he started to thrust in and out of her.

"Oh God," she said getting over the shock of the initial penetration. This brought a smile to his lips. He knew it wouldn't take much to get her mind off of the other subject. It wasn't that he wanted to impregnate her, but it would make no difference to him if he did. He didn't want the other girls to become pregnant, so he used the skins with them. He didn't like it because they were too thick and didn't feel the same. He didn't know why the thought of her becoming pregnant didn't bother him because honestly, it should have. If she did, they would both be in deep trouble. Well maybe not so much him, but he knew that she would want to keep the child as her own and there was no way that his father and is slew of buffoons would let that happen, especially if it was a boy.

He let out a low grunt as he felt her begin to rock her hips back into his. He grabbed her backside and lifted her up, causing her to wrap her legs around him. She felt her back press against the wall and her mouth fell open in a sharp gasp as she felt him begin to pound his hips harder and deeper into hers. She felt herself about to reach her climax and the subjects of the skins couldn't have been further away from her mind. She buried her face into his neck and began placing small kisses there.

"Please, don't stop," she moaned into his ear, causing his skin to tangle. He began to thrust harder into her and her moans began to grow louder. She let out a small cry as he felt her walls contract around his manhood. He tightened his grip on her bottom and after a few more thrusts, he reached his finish, spilling his warmth inside of her.

He sat her back on the dresser and placed his hands on either side of her hips, both of them panting and trying to catch their breaths. After a few minutes, he pressed his forehead to hers and smiled.

She felt the thick fluid starting to seep its way onto the inside of her thigh, and she realized what they had done again. "We should really start using the protection," she told him. His smile only grew bigger.

"You worry too much." With that, he picked her up and carried her over to her bed, letting her fall down onto it as he fell lightly on top of her.

She couldn't help but to smile at him as she hit the bed. He placed his lips on hers and she willingly engaged him in a tender kiss.

He pulled back and looked at her as she continued smiling up at him. She was simply beautiful, he thought, and she was his. He hoped something that was more a decision of hers now than his. He propped himself up on his elbows as he lay between her thighs. She wrapped one of her legs around his as she rubbed her hands up and down his arms. She loved how his muscles felt beneath her finger tips.

"I will be gone for a while," he told her, making her frown in concern.

"Where are you going?" she asked, almost with a pout.

"To Spain," he said simply as if it were no big deal. He soon realized that it was probably the wrong subject to bring up at the time, seeing as he now could not tell whether she had a sad or angry expression on her face. He wasn't leaving for a few more weeks but he wanted to let her know. She turned away from him and he smiled, before putting his hand on her chin and turning her head back to face him.

"We are going out to the fields for some fun before I leave," he told her. "I would like for you to join me."

She searched his eyes before looking away again. "I'm not leaving for a few more weeks," he told her, trying to cheer her up. "Besides you should be happy to have me gone since you despise me so much."

"I do not," she snapped back quickly. The smile on his face let her know that he only wanted to hear her say it. She rolled her eyes at him and turned her head away from him, pretending she was uninterested in playing his game. A smile soon came to her face though as she felt the hair from his face tickling her neck. He didn't stop until she started to squirm and giggle. He pulled back, placed a quick kiss on her lips before rolling to the side of her and pulling her into his arms.

She instantly closed her eye, having become even more comfortable with what had become her sleeping arrangement for the past few nights. She was becoming too comfortable with this, she knew it, but she couldn't stop herself. Especially since he didn't even bother her for sex every night he spent with her.  
'I thought you wanted children?' she heard his voice echo in her head. She had just realized what he had said, and it made her sad. Maybe he was the man of her dreams, maybe she could love him more than she ever loved Evan, but she could not be with him. They could not have a family together.

"Are you okay?" he asked her as he felt her stiffen in his arms.

He tried to pull away from her to get a better look at her face.

"I am fine," she said tucking her head under his chin, not wanting him to see the tears that were now running down her face.

He kissed the top of her head before pulling her close again, and closed his eyes. He fell asleep within minutes and she soon too gave way to her tiredness as she listened to the sound of his heart beating.

* * *

A/N: Okay, this may have been a little all over the place, that's be cause my life is all over the place. And like I said before, I'm trying to get back into the flow of writing this story, but it's hard since I've been gone a while. Anyways...let me know what you guys think.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Honestly...what can I say. I am sorry for not updating sooner, but this summer I kinda just went numb minded and partied and relaxed and it was awesome. I started school again Monday and writing is one of the few things that brings me joy during the school year. So I thought I'd try to do a few updates before I get too far into the school year.

To answer two of the questions I remember. The cats are with the caretakers, and the religion aspect of this time period will come into play big time later. The thing is, will it help or hurt the situation that will have arisen. Is that a word...who speaks like that for real...people I laugh at that's who. (Sorry if you speak like that that one's really not that bad, just had this convo about people who pronounce the t in mature and who say schedule in that douchey way, you know pronounce sch instead of acting like it's sk-ish...lol.)

* * *

"What are you still doing in bed?" Annalisa vaguely heard as she felt the covers being pulled off of her.

She opened her eyes to see Cecily now staring at her. She didn't notice the slight blush coming into the girls face, but she did notice the smile that was appearing. Her brows furrowed in confusion at this until the girl spoke.

"I see the prince paid you a visit last night," Cecily said almost mockingly.

"What?" she asked in confusion. Then she realized that the she did not have on the long gown that she usually slept in, but a much shorter shirt that belonged to none other than the heir to the throne. She scoffed and fell back into the pillow.

"What do you want Cis?" she moaned groggily.

"Well I was going to ask you to go to the market with me, but I think I'd rather discuss your recent bouts with the prince."

She raised her head from the pillow, "I have a better idea. How about we talk about one James Wilson that cannot seem stop talking to me about you."

The smile quickly disappeared from Cecily's face, replaced by a stone cold expression. "Are you coming to the market or not?"

This made Annalisa smile. "He is apologizes Cecily? You cannot blame him for what he says. He is close to royalty. He cannot help it, they have no manners."

Cecily turned her back to Annalisa, trying to hide the smile that was coming to her face.

"You cannot hide it," Lisa said, coming to stand in front of her. "You do still like him."

Cecily's face turned serious, "Yes, I do. Why, I do not know. He is clearly only interested in one thing and it does not involve marriage, so I am not interested."

"Well look who has turned into a hypocrite," Lisa said in an incredulous stone. "It was only a few months ago that you were trying to convince me that I was being ridiculous in refusing the prince. That I should just give into his will and become his whore."

"The circumstances are not the same and you know it," Cecily replied.

"It should not matter the circumstances," Annalisa told here, now becoming a little offended. "I wished to marry Evan and he wished to marry me. We should have at least had that right."

Cecily knew that she was walking on a thin line. She knew that there was no way to justify her point in Annalisa's mind. She wasn't sure that she had justified it in her own mind yet, or if she could. "I'm sorry," she said after a few moments of silent. "You are right. But I did not think you had a choice."

She was going to continue, but Annalisa interrupted her. "I didn't."

She saw the tears that were starting to form in the girl's eyes as she looked away. A look of concern came to her face as she went to sit on the bed next to the girl. Annalisa had seemed rather happy with her current situation with the prince. Well she didn't know if happy was the word to use, but she was surely more accepting of it.

"What is the matter?" Cecily asked her. "Did something happen last night?"

Lisa didn't say anything at first. She only wiped the tears from her eyes, before finally speaking. "He is going to Spain to meet his bride."

"Aww, Lisa," Cecily said pulling her into a hug. Now everything made sense. Lisa had been happy with the prince, just a little too comfortable with that happiness. "We knew he was to marry the Duchess."

"That doesn't make me feel any better Cecily," she said, causing Cecily to giggle a little.

"It's not funny," Lisa said a little offended, as she pulled back from the hug.

"I'm sorry," Cecily said laughing a little more. "But I knew this was going to happen."

"You've made that quite clear already," Lisa said as she stood from the bed and began to walk over to the armoire.

"No, not the marriage," Cecily corrected, "you falling in love with the prince."

Annalisa's head snapped around to find Cecily smiling warmly at her. Her mouth opened, but she took the time to think before speaking. She decided to continue. "I am not in love with him."

Cecily laughed again at the denial. "Look at you," she said, walking over to her cousin. "You are wearing his shirt, you are in tears because of him, and if I am right, you cannot stop thinking about him."

Annalisa didn't say anything. She only looked at Cecily, as if waiting for her to give her the secret antidote to make this feeling of love go away. It felt good at times, but sometimes it hurt too badly, and now was one of those times. She just wanted the feeling to go away.

Cecily only smiled at her and wiped away the last tear that had fallen from the girl's eyes. She said the only thing that she knew of to make her feel better, and in her heart, she believed it was the truth. "At least it is not unrequited."

Lisa gave her a faint smile as Cecily pulled her into another hug. It was not settling to think that she would be forced to spend her life apart from the man that she loved, and who possibly loved her back, but it did help a little knowing that he loved her back. At least she thought, she felt that way in her heart but just thought it was her being delusional. Cecily often had an eye for these things though. But if he truly loved her, why hadn't he said anything. Maybe Cecily was wrong this time, but it couldn't hurt to pretend.

"So," Cecily said as they pulled away from the hug, "are you coming to the market?"

"Only if you promise to be nice to James," Lisa offered.

Cecily sighed, but replied with a smile. "I will try." Lisa returned her smile. "Now get dressed so we can leave."

* * *

"I do not see why I have to go?" James said as he walked through the hallway.

"Hmm, that's funny," Greg said, "because I do not see why I have to go?"

"This has nothing to do with me," James continued, ignoring his friend's sarcastically mocking comment. "You are the one marrying her, I am not."

"Well you could have said no," Greg informed him.

"Your mother asked me to go with you."

"When I asked you to go with me you had no problem refusing," Greg replied.

""That was…," he was cut off, when they rounded the corner. He stopped sharply, preventing himself from running into the smiling girl, though the smile faded when she saw him. He felt his palms become sweaty, and the lump in his throat confirmed his nervousness.

"Miss," he said bowing slightly.

"Mr. Wilson," she said, turning her head and sticking her nose in the air.

Lisa elbowed her, making Cecily glare at her. Greg only looked on with an amused smirk. He hadn't gotten the chance to see the two of them together after their falling out. James surveyed the girls and saw that they were dressed for a day outside of the palace walls. He couldn't pass the chance to initiate communication between him and the young woman standing in front of him.

"You look rather dashing," he started. "May I ask where you are going?"

"Dashing?" she asked in an obviously unimpressed tone. "How so Mr. Wilson? I am only wearing the clothes of a servant. After all, we people cannot afford such fine clothing as yourself."

"Cecily!" Annalisa scolded her, as Greg's eyes widened in approval. He didn't think the girl had it in her to be so outlandish, but then again, she was akin to the woman standing in front of him.

"It's quite alright," James said. "I deserved…,"

"We are going to the market," Cecily forced out. She didn't want to tell him, but she had promised Lisa.

He looked at her surprised by her outburst, but a smile appeared as he realized she was at least being civil towards him. She only turned away, not wanting his charming smile to break her barriers too much.

"So tell me," Greg said, "should I alert the guards to be on the lookout for any mischief that one of you is sure to cause." He eyed Annalisa expectantly as he said this.

"How could I possibly get into any trouble when you will be here?," she said returning his stare.

"Excellent point," he said as he side stepped them, "I'll put the guards on alert."

"Gooday," Wilson said, before turning to Cecily and smiling, before following his friend down the hall.

"Now that wasn't so hard," Lisa told Cecily as they continued on their way.

* * *

"I don't like that girl," William said as he watched the two men walk away from the two girls.

"Who?" Alex asked, as William closed the door.

"My cousin's newest little whore," he replied. "Who else?"

Alex chuckled slightly as he continued to reset the chessboard. "She did nothing to you?"

"There is just something about her."

"If you ask me," Alex started, as he got up to exit the room, "you are just jealous of Greg."

If Alex would have turned around, he would have seen the daggers being shot at him in the look that William was giving him. He was not jealous. He had nothing to be jealous about. He deserved the throne; he would be a better king. That was it, plan and simple. The fact that Greg would not let him touch his newest little toy was only the tip of the iceberg. He had had no trouble in sharing his other concubines with him, but when he had asked for her, Greg had strictly refused him. He had thought to just take her, but Greg kept such a good eye on her that it would be hard to get next to her without him knowing. He hated the way everything just seemed to revolve around his cousin's word. Then throwing himself a going away party as if he was already king. It would be good if he would go away and never come back. William smiled at the thought. His smile grew wider at the thought that followed.

* * *

She shrieked as she turned and collided with the man standing behind her. "James, you scared me," Lisa said as she continued making her way throughout the large kitchen.

"Forgive me," he said before getting to the real reason he was there. "Have you talked to Cecily?"

Lisa rolled her eyes sarcastically as she placed some of the fresh vegetables on her plate. "Yes."

"Well what happened?"

"Nothing happened," she told him. "I talked to her."

"Well you've got to do something more. You have to get things back to the way they were."

Lisa let out a sigh as she turned to face him. "Is she speaking to you?"

"Yes," he told her, not sure where she was going.

"Is she cordial?"

"Barely," he admitted.

"Oh," she said looking away in thought for a moment. "Well that's not my problem. I did what I could, the rest is up to you. Now if you would excuse me," she turned and picked up the plate she had just put the food on, "I am going to go have dinner."

* * *

"I see you have found the Prince's personal dining room," she heard a voice say from behind her.

She turned around quickly to see William closing the door behind him as he entered the room. She swallowed the piece of fruit, but it felt like it got stuck in her throat as a knot crept its way up into her stomach. He only smiled at her, which did not serve to settle the still rising fear in her. Greg had showed her the room and they had eaten there a few times. He told her that she was free to use it whenever she wanted, and since she didn't like being in the presence of Mary and the other girls, that was frequently.

"You know," he started as he began making his way towards the table where she sat. Her eyes followed him, full of fear, as he continued, "I am sure my uncle would be quite upset if he found you here."

"I'll leave," she said quickly, about to stand and exit the room. She would've been happy to have left, if it meant she could get away from him.

"Nonsense" he said putting his hands on her shoulder, causing her to fall back down in her seat. "What my uncle does not know, cannot anger him."

He sat down in the seat next to her, turning his attention to the food that was in front of her. She still eyed him curiously; ready to make a run for it the first signed he showed of his usual aggressiveness towards her. "I see that you and my cousin have grown quite close over the last few months."

He looked up at her and she quickly turned away, afraid to make eye contact with him. She knew that he could be awful and very cruel, as he had already showed her that he could be. This made him smile. She feared him, just the way he liked it. But he at least needed her to be able to talk to him, and so far that was not happening. He picked up a grape from her plate and placed it in his mouth.

He noticed the jewel around her neck and decided to get a closer looked. He reached for it and she backed away slightly out of instinct, but he still managed to get a hold of it. "Nice," he started. "Did Greg give this to you?" Still she said nothing.

"You know if I were you, I wouldn't get too close. You don't want your heart to get broken when Duchess Anastacia throws you out. "

This made her look up at him. "She wouldn't want another girl getting to close to her husband once she marries, and you my dear, are already too close I believe."

She still didn't say anything. He picked up a strawberry from the plate and studied it for a while before holding it up to her mouth. She looked down at it with a confused look before returning her eyes to his.

"No thank you," she told him, getting a little angry now, "I lost my appetite."

He smirked at her before eating the strawberry himself. He then placed his hand on her knee. She tried to move away but he tightened his grip causing her to wince a little. "If I were you," he told her, "I would start staying a little closer to me. Who knows? This country might one day come to its senses and decide that I should be king."

He began sliding his hand up her thigh and she looked up at him, still a little frightened, but anger showing in her eyes. His hand went farther up her thigh and she slapped it away to keep him from going any farther.

He chuckled and stood up. He raised his hand as if he was going to smack her with the back of his hand and she braced for the impact, turning her head to the side. She realized that she would not be struck when she heard him laughing maliciously. She did not turn back around to face him until she heard the door open and close again. She quickly got up from the table, grabbed the plate, and rushed down to the kitchen, wanting to be near Cecily or someone that would help, just in case William showed up again.

* * *

"And did I tell you who is having a baby?" she smiled up at him as she clutched onto his shirt.

"Not you?" he said only half jokingly, but it served to hide the panic that was starting to rise.

"No, Sarah," she told him with a confused look.

"Oh," he started. "That's…nice." He didn't know what to say. Sure he knew Sarah and Thomas, and they were both really nice people. He just didn't know how to react to that type of news. She seemed happy so he assumed it was good. He did notice that she had grown quiet after his little assumption.

"You know you should have given them more than that little trinket for a present," he told her.

"I beg your pardon, that 'trinket' was quite expensive," she told him, sounding a little offended.

He laughed remembering the day they bought it. "Now that they are with child, maybe you should give them something more."

"That would be nice," she told him, "but I have nothing to give. I am saving up to buy something for the baby when it arrives."

"Hmmm," he said in mock contemplation, "I think I own a few pieces of land near your mother's house. Are they still living with her?"

"Yes," she told him, still not getting what he was hinting at. "Mother is thinking about sending one of the girls to live here at the palace with Cecily once the baby arrives. The extra room would be needed."

"Do you think Thomas would like a piece of the land I own for him and his family?" he asked her.

She sat up quickly and stared at him, her hands perched on his chest, but she said nothing.

He continued, "It's near your mother's home, so he would still be…,"

"Are you kidding me?" she asked incredulously.

"Well we would say it's from you. Well they would know it's from me, but I …," He was cut off by her arms wrapping around him and her lips being pressed to his.

"That would be great," she said abruptly pulling away from the kiss, leaving him still licking his lips. "Amazing even."

"If that's what I get for a piece of bare land, what do I get if I build a house on it?" he said, but she was still too excited to hear him.

"I have to tell them," she said getting out of the bed.

"Where are you going?" he asked in disbelief, making her turn around to look at him. "It's too late to go wondering about alone."

"You're right," she said in thought. "They are probably asleep."

"Why don't you just get back in bed, and …,"

"I know," she said looking up at him. She grabbed her robe and began to put it on. "I'll tell Cecily."

He watched in disbelief as she fled from the room. He sighed and lay back against the headboard. He had no one to blame but himself. He should have saved the piece of information until after he had lain with her.

* * *

She stepped out of the carriage and went to stand next to Cecily. She stared at the site of the grounds before them. They were at the grounds where Greg's going away party was being held and she had no idea everything would be so grand. She couldn't fathom what he had thought about Thomas and Sarah's wedding if this was his idea of a simple get together for him to have some fun with his friends before he was to leave for Spain. There were tables sat up near a building on the far end of the field that she hadn't paid much attention to before. She could only assume that they were to be filled with food for later on in the event. The fields had been trimmed, some areas designated to games like bowls and others to those such as archery. There was a section set off further from the fields where some of the men were playing card games and still some of the areas of the field were left untouched for later use to play the games involving the horses. Stands had been assembled in some places along the fields for spectators that choose not to participate. There were people all over, all socialites, but they were all younger. It was clear this was an event for the prince, and no part of it was put on by the king and queen.

"Well," Cecily said surveying the lands as Lisa did, "this should make for an interesting evening."

"Yes," Lisa agreed, "it's good to see everyone dressed appropriately for such an event," she finished sarcastically. She was still trying to figure how an event, obviously focused around sporting and being outside all day could warrant such extravagant clothing. The women were dressed in some of their finest clothing, and the men, although dressed in what would be deemed appropriate sporting attire, were still dressed extremely well. Neither of the girls had ever seen such a thing. The men were dressed similarly at the sporting events they had attended, but the clothes were clearly older and more worn. No one from their village would ever go sporting in clothes that looked that good, even if it was the proper uniform.

"There you are," she heard a familiar voice say from behind; making both her and Cecily turn to face it. "I was beginning to think that you had abandoned ship on the way here. I know how you hate to be around people of my kind."

She smiled warmly at him. "Do not worry. I have practiced holding my moral values to lower standards for such an event."

Cecily turned away to hide the amused smirk that appeared on her face and he smiled sarcastically back at her.

"Clever," he told her. His voice then turned more serious. "If you do not mind, I would like for today's events to go as smoothly as possible. I want it to be rather uneventful, excluding the actual events that have been planned."

"I know how to behave myself," she told him.

"I've been looking for you," Mary said as she attached herself to Greg's arm. He smiled down at her. "Are you going to join the game of bowls? I'd love to watch you play."

"Maybe later," he told her extracting his arm from her grip. "I have other plans as of right now. Maybe you should go over and socialize with the other girls."

The smile on Mary's face dropped. She had never been sent to 'socialize' with the other girls. She knew what that meant. The other girls were currently entertaining Greg's friends, and socializing with the other concubines meant that she would have to also. He then turned to Lisa, and her stomach sunk.

"As for you," he started, "I've made a bet with a few chaps that my partner and I could beat them in a contest of archery. When I told them my partner was a girl, they fell over themselves to take me up on my offer." He then held out his arm. "Shall we?"

She just smiled at him and took his arm, letting him lead them towards the archery field. Cecily could practically see the steam rising from the girl's head that was left standing with her. She could only assume that this was the infamous Mary, Annalisa had told her about. A smile came to her face, knowing that her cousin had just one upped the girl where the prince was concerned.

"Hello," Cecily started, drawing the girl's attention to her. "I don't believe we've met. You must be Mary." She held out her hand. "I'm Cecily, Annalisa's cousin." Mary's face only turned a shade redder, which didn't seem possible until it did, before she huffed and turned on her heels, and stalked off towards the area where the other concubines were entertaining the guests.

The rest of the evening went on as planned. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, if you excluded Mary. Even William seemed to be happily engaged in the event, the likes of which he usually sulked at having to attend. James and Cecily had even spent a lot of time talking, seeing as he had invited her and had pestered her until she held a prolonged conversation with him. The only thing left now was to play the game of Hurley, before sitting down to dinner to end the evening. It seemed as if it was going to end in success. That was until a commotion was heard coming from a distance. Slowly everyone turned their attention to the area. And soon through the trees, they could see a group of men, a few on horses, coming through the woods carrying weapons.

Baxter, the king's servant whom he had sent to chaperon the event, knowing that his son's guards would not be properly performing their duties, mounted a horse. He informed Greg that he was going to tell them that this was a private, royal event and that they were to leave or else. Everyone watched as the man rode towards the mad men. They watched as he got closer, they heard him yelling, but clearly the other men did not hear or did not care about what he was saying because one of them speared him through the chest. There was a loud gasp from the crowd, and had Greg not been so occupied with what was going on in front of him, he would have seen William slip away from the event with a sly grin on his face.

He was still trying to figure out what was going on as the men got even closer to them. It wasn't until he felt Annalisa's hand slip into his in an ever tightening grip that he realized that they had to act in order to save their lives. He was not a leader to send men into battle without willing to personally fight for the cause himself. And he was definitely not one to run from a battle that was brought to him.

"Give me your sword," he told Alex.

"Are you mad? What will I have?" Alex asked, clearly reading his mind.

"We'll get you a sword later," he told him, "now give it to me."

Alex reluctantly reached for his sword, trusting in his friend that without his sword, there would be a later for him. As the other men saw Alex hand his sword over to Greg, the ones who had swords with them instinctively drew theirs. Others grabbed the archery equipment, while some were left to make use of other devices that would normally not be used for such a cause.

He then turned to Annalisa. She looked up at him with fear over her face. She opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off. "Go to the carriages," he told her. She failed to moved, as if her fear had glued her to that spot.

"Your majesty?" he heard Dudley, one of his friends say in a shaky voice. He looked up and saw that the men had quickly closed the distance between them.

"Now," he yelled at Annalisa, shoving her softly to get her moving.

She began to back away slowly, her eyes still on the men coming towards them. Greg then mounted one of the horses. A high pitched scream from one of the women snapped Annalisa back to reality and she noticed all the chaos going on around her.

"Cecily," she said softly to herself. She had to find her first. "Cecily," she yelled this time. She looked around the chaotic crowd for the girl, as the men finally reached them. It wasn't until she heard her name being called that her eyes landed on Cecily.

"Cecily," she yelled, and the girl's eyes fell to her. They both shared a smile of relief, having found each other. Annalisa took a step towards her, but a grungy looking man stepped in front of her, stopping her.

"Where are you off to so quickly my dear?" he smiled revealing his rotting teeth.

Annalisa could hear Cecily's voice getting closer as she called her name, but she could not move to try to escape the man. She knew that if she tried to run, he would surely kill her.

* * *

**A/N: Dun, dun, duuuunnn...sigh, I'm happy I update. I hope you can forgive me for it taking so long. But when life gives you lemonade instead of lemons, you have to make the most of that too...I hope you can find it in your hearts to review... :(**


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Faster than last time. Yay! I know it's still not perfect timing but I'm trying. 15 more days until the premiere, more YAY!

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this part. Let me know if anything seems off or any other comments you have after finish reading it. Have fun!

* * *

"You all thought you could just take our land and that would be the end of it," the filth ridden man said with a retched smile.

Annalisa's face grew confused. "What are you talking about? I have no land of yours."

"I beg to differ my darling," the man said. His eyes then spotted the jewel around her neck. "But this'll make up for it." He reached out his hand and snatched the jewel from her neck before she had a chance to react.

"No, don't," she said as she reached her hand out to grab it back, but it was too late. She watched helplessly as he ran away with it.

"Com'on," Cecily said grabbing her arm. "We have to get out of here."

Cecily ended up pulling her as she looked after the man that was still running with the emerald. She gasped as she saw suddenly as an arrow shot through his chest and he fell to the ground.

"I have to get the necklace," she said, as she started pulling away from Cecily. "I have to get it."

"Have to get what?" Cecily asked, not having heard her as she tried to keep her grip on her cousin.

"The necklace," she yelled, still struggling against Cecily. They were no longer moving now as both of the girls pulled in different directions.

"Are you insane?" Cecily yelled at her. "Do you see where we are? I do not have the time to literally drag your butt out of here."

"What are you doing?" James asked in disbelief as he ran up to the two of them. "Get out of here, now."

"I am trying, but," Cecily started, but was cut short. Lisa had taken her being distracted as the perfect chance to pull away from her. She was about to go after the girl, but James stopped her.

"You have to get out of her," He told her.

"I have to get her," she replied.

"You go," he told her. "I'll get her."

Cecily looked in the direction the girl was, contemplating on rather to leave her. That was when she saw the man coming towards her.

"Told you we'd get you one later," Greg said as he tossed down a sword to Alex. He had just taken it from a man he had speared.

"Annalisa!," he heard a familiar voice yell.

That was when he looked over and saw Cecily and James, both of them looking about a hundred yards in front of them. He then noticed what they were looking at, one of their attackers on a horse going towards Lisa with his spear ready as she searched in the grass for something. With no time to process how angry he was with her for still being there after he had long ago told her to leave, he started towards them.

She heard Cecily calling her name and she gasped as she looked up to see a man lowering his spear to possibly behead her as he was no more than ten feet away from her. Her eyes grew wider and she would have reacted if she thought she had time to. Just as the man was about to swing the weapon she saw a sword go through the front of his chest. The man fell from the horse and she covered her head as the horse almost trampled her as he ran buy her.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he yelled at her as he stopped his horse in front of her.

She didn't answer and continued to search through the grasses, next to the body of the now dead man who had stolen it from her.

"Com'on," he told her reach out his hand to help her onto the horse. If she wouldn't leave on her own, he would have to see to it that she got out of ther.

"No," she told him, "I have to find it."

His brows furrowed as he grew angrier, what could possibly be worth looking for at a time like this.

"Leave it," he told her, still not knowing what it was. "Give me your hand."

"No," she yelled at him, her eyes still searching the grass. She knew she should go with him, she should have gone with Cecily, but she wanted that necklace. She didn't know why, but she knew she wanted that necklace with her when she left.

Without another word he jumped down from the horse and pulled her from her knees, and began effectively doing what Cecily had tried to do earlier, drag her butt out of their. He mad it to where Cecily and James where and the managed to get back to the carriages without getting killed. They went to the carriage that he, James, and William had arrived in and found their driver hiding inside. Cecily climbed inside and he forced Annalisa into it.

"I have to find…," she tried to explain to him, as she had tried to do many of times in the last minute, but still he ignored her.

"Make sure she stays here," he told him. "If she leaves it won't be good for either of you."

"Yes, your majesty," the man said nervously.

He closed the door and when he and James made it back to the fields, their friends had managed to get control of the situation. Both sides had lost men, but the attackers had lost more and the ones that had survived had been cornered. He walked over to where Dudley was and one of his other friends had three men lying on the ground.

"You," he said to the man in the middle. "Who sent you?"

"No one sent us. We sent ourselves. " the man said, before Dudley pushed his foot down on his neck causing him to moan in agony.

"Well congratulations," Greg started, "you've just managed an attack on one of the members of the royal family. I hope yourselves would she the value and saving your lives soon, so you would talk while you still have a chance. "

The men just looked at each other. "The royal family?" he asked.

"Yes, you just attacked the Prince Gregory, you idiot," Dudley informed him. He then turned to Greg . "We sent a few men to get the palace guards. They should be back in a few minutes."

Greg nodded and turned to walk away.

"Wait," one of the men yelled. Greg and James turned around to look at him. "We were told this was a gathering for the Gormley village."

"First off, the Gormely villagers would not be having a celebration on royal grounds, and secondly, why would you want to attack the Gormely villagers?" Greg asked him.

"They cheated us out of our land," the man replied.

Greg studied the man a while, before deciding he would further question back at the palace. There had to be more to the story. Why would the men think that the Gormely villagers were gathering there when they clearly weren't?

"Tell the guards to notify me when they arrive back at the palace with the prisoners," he told Dudley.

"Prisoners!" the man exclaimed. "Com'on, show a little mercy your majesty. We did not know it was you. Had we known we would have never attacked."

"Well that just goes to show," Greg replied. "Men as stupid as you should not be allowed to roam free. Clearly someone told you a lie and you believed it. You have caused the death of men whose lives alone were worth more than all of yours put together. You are lucky I haven't ordered execution, and if I were you I'd be quiet before I change my mind."

The man promptly shut up and neither of the other men dared to open their mouth. Greg and James then turned to go back to the carriages. Upon their returned, the driver returned to his place at the front of the carriage.

"What happened?" Cecily asked eagerly. "Is everything okay?"

"I wouldn't quite say okay," James told her. "Over? Yes. Okay?...Far from it."

"I can get the necklace then," Lisa said.

He looked to her neck and saw that the necklace was gone. "Is that what you were looking for?' he asked in disbelief.

She studied his face for a few seconds and saw that he was mad. "Yes," she told him. "And do not yell at me."

"You almost got us killed behind that stupid necklace," he continued yelling, "and you are telling me not to yell at you."

"It is not a stupid," she started but he cut her off. "What the hell is your problem? You were almost beheaded because of a piece of jewelry." Lisa was gearing up to yell just as loud as him, until he made his next statement. "If he would have killed you it would have been well deserved."

He continued to yell, but she could barely hear what he was saying. She couldn't believe that he had told her she deserved to die. That, along with the fact that he was still yelling at her, caused tears to come to her eyes. She turned to look out of the window and to hide the tears from the other two passengers in the carriage with them. He was still yelling and she could feel her emotions reaching threshold levels. She wished that they would get to the palace soon so she could just get away from him.

"What the hell was so special about that necklace?" he yelled, ready to continue, but this time she stopped him.

"You gave it to me!," she yelled back at him, realizing for the first time why she wanted to find it so badly and shutting him up too.

She then turned back to the window and continued to cry. He was right, she should have just left the damn thing their. Clearly it was not worth what she thought it had been worth. Now she hoped that a hard rain would come and wash it to the bottom of the river, where it would get burried deep under the sediment.

Greg took a deep breath and looked down at the ground. He knew he was right. He had every right to be angry, but she had just made him to be the jackass in the situation again. He looked up from the floor to find Cecily's piercing a hole in him with her eyes. She had been angry with the girl too, but he didn't have to yell at her like he had and tell her that she deserved to have her head chopped off.

She got up and wedged herself between her cousin and him and he got up and sat in her empty seat. James pushed over and made more room for him. They shared a look before James looked away. He had to admit he was all on Greg's side until Lisa made her last comment, making his friend seem like the biggest jack ass in the world.

* * *

"So are you agreeing with him?" Annalisa asked, a little offended as she sat on Cecily's bed. She had decided to stay there for a while, knowing the prince may have been making his rounds soon, since she did not want to entertain his company that night or any other night as far as she was concerned.

"No," Cecily told her. "But you have to admit. He had every right to be angry." She too had initially been upset with Greg for what he had said, but she had now had time to calm down. She knew that he had said what he had said out of anger, and though it still didn't make it right, he at least deserved to be forgiven after what had happened today.

The whole palace had been a buzz since they had returned. The king and queen were understandably highly upset as where the parliament and other elite socialites at the news of what had happened. Greg had been back and forth between questioning the prisoner, calming his mother, and talking to his friends trying to figure out just what had happened at the fields.

Lisa just looked at Cecily before rolling her eyes at her. "Well I do think…,"

Before Cecily could finish the sentence, there was a knock on her bedroom door. When she opened it, she turned to look at Lisa. This was obviously her visitor. Cecily stepped aside and let him in.

"You were not in your room," he said calmly.

"I know that," she retorted just as calmly, but the hint of the attitude could not be missed.

He took a deep breath and let it out, knowing this wasn't going to be easy. "Why not?"

"I wanted to speak with Cecily," she told him. "What does it matter to you anyhow? I am dead to you."

He and Cecily shared a look; he then turned back to Annalisa. He knew he may have deserved that. "If you do not mind, may I speak with you outside in the hallway?" he asked her.

"I do mind," was her simple response.

He looked to the floor for a few moments, trying to gather his composure. He didn't want to start yelling just yet. He was trying to be nice, which said a lot. He rarely went out of his way to be nice, especially when he felt his actions were appropriate. He turned to Cecily. "Do you mind excusing yourself so I…,"

"This is her room, she should not have to go anywhere," she interrupted him. "If you have something to say, say it. I am sure that it is not of any value."

He shared another look with Cecily. She actually felt a little sorry for him. It was clear that he was trying to right the wrong he had done earlier, and she was making it as harder than it needed to be. He took another breath.

"I'm sorry," he said looking at the back of her head, since she wouldn't turn to look at him.

She didn't move and she didn't answer him. He looked to Cecily, then back to her.

"Did you hear me?" he asked her.

"I heard you perfectly fine," she told him, finally turning to face him. Her expression unaltered by his recent apology.

He realized that that was all he was going to get out of her, nothing more. He had calmed down mostly from their earlier argument, but she was starting to anger him again. He didn't just offer apologize willingly to anyone like he had just done with her. And her response was like a slap in the face.

She watched as his jaw clenched, and he gave her a cold stare before he turned and excited the room. The saddened look on her face as she realized he was leaving didn't go unnoticed by Cecily. She watched the now closed door as if expecting him to come back in and beg more for her forgiveness. After a few seconds, and Cecily's voice breaking her out of her day dream, she realized that he wasn't coming back.

"Unbelievable," Cecily said as she threw her hands up in the air, "you are."

Annalisa's head quickly snapped towards Cecily's direction. "What did I do?" she asked sounding a little offended.

"Ughh!" Cecliy said clenching her fists. "You two are just unbelievably stubborn."

"I am not stubborn," she said.

Cecily opened her mouth to yell again, but changed her mind at the last minute. She knew it made no sense to lose her voice over this. Getting either one of them to give up their stubborn ways would be like having to move heaven and earth, and no one could move them, but themselves.

"Get out of my room," she said calmly.

Annalisa's eyes squinted a little, testing Cecily. When she saw the girl wasn't going to change her mind, she stood and grabbed the hairbrush she had come with. "Fine," she said before exiting the room.

Annalisa pouted as stalked down the hallways, all the way back to her room. She had just turned the corner of the hall her room was on, but was stopped dead in her tracks as she saw William wandering a couple of doors down from her bedroom.

She looked at him and was about to turn to go the other way, but decided she could probably make it to her room and lock the door before he could get to her. He made eye contact with her, and seeing the fear on her face, gave her that creepy smile of his that she hated.

She started towards the door and seeing her making her move he started towards her. She had miscalculated. Before she could turn the handle to open her bedroom door he had already grabbed her and pinned her against the wall.

"There you are," he said pressing his body against hers. "I've been looking for you."

"What do you want?" she asked in a fearful voice, as she tried to make an imprint in the wall just to get a little further away from him.

"Well isn't that obvious?" he asked as he let out a mischievous chuckle. "I want whatever it is that you are giving to my cousin."

He brought his hand up to caress her face, and she turned her head to the side and closed, knowing that wouldn't allow her to avoid him touching her.

"Ahh," she heard William say, causing her to open her eyes. The sight she saw was very relieving. It was none other than her night in shining armor himself, or at least that's what he was starting to become.

"Dear cousin," Greg said with a pretentious smile as he continued to bend William's hand back in a way that looked very painful. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you since the little incident down at the fields today."

William used his free hand to push his cousin back causing Greg to let go of his hand.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" William asked as he nursed the hand that Greg had assaulted. "You could have broken my hand."

"Next time I will," he said with a serious look as the smile disappeared from his face.

He and William shared a cold threatening glare, before William decided it would be best if he left the situation as it was. His cousin was already angry apparently from what had happened down at the fields, and he didn't want to get into a blood bath fight with him tonight. He knew that he could beat Greg, just not when he was in this kind of mood.

Greg watched as William disappeared from the hall, before turning to Lisa. She looked up at him with tearful eyes, but neither of them said anything. She wanted to say something, to tell him that she accepted his apology from early, but the emotions from the realizations of days events was suddenly crashing down on her and she had to do everything she could to keep from breaking down right there. She had almost died today, he had almost died, Cecily and James. Her necklace was gone, he had told her that she should have been killed, though she knew now that he didn't really mean it. He was still angry with her, Cecily had put her out, and to top it off, William had made it very clear that he was going to continue to harass her every chance he got. He did not seem fazed by her threatening tears though, as he turned and continued on his way a couple of doors down from hers. She watched him intently, wanting him to come back and talk to her, to just be there with her. She needed someone, she wanted him.

He felt her eyes still on him as he raised his hand to knock on Audrey's door. He was gone to ignore her but he got a good peripheral view of the woman standing just few yards away from him and he couldn't help but to look her way. She looked disheveled, scared, vulnerable, and hurt, and she seemed to be pleading with him not to leave her alone. He brought his hand down from the door deciding not to knock just yet and looked down at the floor as he let out a frustrated breath. She made him so angry, and still he found it hard to refuse her. He felt her eyes still on him as he contemplated his decision still standing in front of Audrey's door.

After a few seconds, he lifted his head and began making his way back towards her. He stopped in front of her and waited for her to make a move. A faint smile was all she could offer, knowing that he was still angry with her, and he had a lot of reasons to be at that moment. Still he couldn't help but to smile back as he used his thumb to lightly brush away the tear that had fallen from her eye. He caressed her check as she brought her hand up to his and nuzzled closer to his touch. He then placed a kiss on her forehead before he pulled her closer to him. She burried her face in his chest and let the tears that had been threatening for the last few minutes flow freely, as he caressed her back softly.

"We should get to bed," he told her after a few moments of calming her. "I have a long trip in the tomorrow."

She reluctantly pulled away from him and opened her bedroom door for both of them to enter. She climbed into bed and he settled in beside her. She scooted closer to him and he obliged her by wrapping his arm around her and holding her closs. She brought her hand to his face and let ran her fingers across the short stubble that was there.

"I don't want you to go to Spain," she admitted.

He looked at her as if contemplating what she was saying. She was beginning to think that she had made a mistake. The comment she had just made was loaded with so much that should probably have never been shared between them. But she had said it, and he hadn't replied yet, and that was beginning to scare her. She was sure that he was going to get up and leave her there, alone again, and even more distraught this time.

But to her surprise and relief, he just brought his lips to hers, engaging her in a tender kiss. He then pulled her close again, letting his hand caress the small of her back, the contact lulling both of them to sleep.

* * *

"What do you mean you cannot find him?" the king thundered. His son was supposed to leave for Spain in less than an hour to meet the father of his bride, and no one seemed to be able to find him.

"We looked all over your majesty," Peter said shakily. "No one knows where he is."

The king huffed as he got up from his chair. He would find the boy, since no one else seemed to be capable of doing so.

* * *

"Aren't you going to get into trouble?" Annalisa asked with a huge smile on her face as Greg led her through a wooded area.

"Probably," he told her nonchalantly.

He had waken her early that morning and told her to get dressed. They had then snuck out of the castle, Amelia meeting them with a large basket of food at one of the back entrances. He then proceeded to lead her through a shallowly wooded area. The smile fell from her face and was replaced by a look of astonishment as she realized that they were back at the clearing she had told him about.

"But I think the duke can wait one more day," he told her. "I'll just tell him important that something came up that delayed me when I get there."

She looked over and smiled at him, knowing that she was about to have one of the best days of her life.

* * *

A/N: Hi guys, it's me again...lol. Don't forget to let me know what you think, in detail...lol. Obviously I am in a good mood, for some reason I don't know yet, seeing as I am still stressed out about life and school, but hey, what can you do. Don't forget to **REVIEW**!Please :)


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Ahhh! Don't stone me!. I'm sorry I haven't updated and from the people who have inboxed me and continued to comment or who have just been waiting I am sorry. If I could get paid for doing things that I would rather do than not get paid to do things that I would rather not do to be able to do things that I want to do legally then I would update more frequently...I think that came out right. But I am sorry though and I do plan on continuing both of these stories. Possibly some scarce updates until summer and maybe I'll get some extra time then hopefully to update more frequently. But I'll try to write ahead on both of them so even if I do get tied down again, which I probably will, I will still have updates to post. Well this isn't much, probably could have been better but I'm trying. Hope you like...**

* * *

"And we carved our names on one of the trees with Father's pocket knife," she said admiring the tall trees that surrounded the opening in the forest. She had just only noticed that she had lost Greg's attention a few moments ago. She looked back and her mouth fell open at the site that she saw. He had stripped all of his clothes off and was standing only thigh deep in the stream.

She couldn't help but to laugh causing him to look back at her with a smile. "What are you doing?" she asked him still laughing a little.

"It's nice out for a swim, don't you think?" he asked as he walked deeper into the pond.

She walked closer to the water and just shook her head in disbelief. "You should join me."

"Oh no," she told him. "I don't think so."

"Come on," he urged her.

"Are you mad?" she asked him. "I'm not undressing in the middle of the woods."

"Who's going to see you?" he said laughing at the incredulous look on her face. "Besides me of course."

She only looked at him with a smirk on her face. "Com'on," he started, "I am going to get into a lot of trouble for leaving without letting anyone know and I only did it to spend one more day with you since you didn't want me to go to Spain." She blushed as he continued. "So please humor me."

She turned her back to him contemplating his request. It was starting to get kind of warm out and the water did look pretty tempting. She turned back to the waterfall, it was beautiful. It wasn't a huge waterfall, but it wasn't so small that you couldn't appreciate its majestic appeal. It emptied into a nice sized pond that now held a certain bare member of the royal family. The pond then trickled off at the opposite end of the waterfall, flowing over the stones that had settled there making a small stream the flowed step like down a small hill.

"Well are you coming in or not?" he asked bringing her back to reality.

She smiled at him before she started taking off her shoes. She picked up her dress and walked closer to the edge and stepped in getting her feet wet

"Surely you will not stay there all day," he yelled from the middle of the pond where he was currently treading the water.

She only glanced up at him smile. She looked down again and began moving some of the pebbles wit her toes. She didn't look up again until realized there was another presence disturbing the water shallow water where she was currently standing. She looked up and could not help the smile that came on her face as the nude man stood in front of her. She had heard a few stories around the palace and apparently he had been comfortable with his nudity every since he was a small boy. There were very few workers that worked on the upper levels of the castle that had not gotten flashed by the tiny royal backside of the little boy that would, heaven help them, one day become their king. She looked up at him coyly and he put his hand under her chin tilting her head up a little as he bent to place a kiss on her lips. He snaked one arm around her waist pulling her closer to him as he deepened the kiss. She giggled, breaking the kiss a little as she felt his hands fiddling with the fasteners on the back of her dress. She did not stop him. She only pressed her lips back to his as he continued to undress her. Once all of the pieces of material that had clothed her body lay in a puddle at her feet, he gently lifted her from the ground as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He then proceeded to walkback into the deeper parts of the water.

She didn't pull away from him until their bodies were completely submerged in waters. She turned away from him in order to investigate the waterfall further. After marveling at the sight for a few minutes, she felt him closing in behind her. His hand was light as a feathers touch on her hip and she felt him pulling her toward him, his hardening manhood slightly brushing her backside. Since he had not yet had the chance to tighten his grip on her, she took the opportunity to swim away from him. She smiled to herself knowing he would follow. She swam around the waterfall and was surprised to find that the stone wall behind the waterfall was in itself beautiful. She had always known that this place was special, but she had never had a chance to explore it fully. She gasped when something grabbed her leg and she went underwater. Whatever it was, soon let her go and she resurfaced to see him grinning at her. She was a little upset that he would do something so cruel, mostly because he caught her off guard as she stared at the tall wall of rocks. As she tried to push him away, he took the opportunity to grab her and pull her closer.

"Let go of me," she pouted, a little more upset that her plans to put distance between them had only resulted in her being pressed up against him.

He smiled. She wasn't really mad with him. He had seen her angrier. He picked her up out of the water slightly and she instinctively wrapped her legs around him. She was about to protest but he had already pressed his lips against hers. He stepped up on the small underwater ledge that he obviously already knew was there and pressed her back into a small, shallow niche that was engraved in the stone wall.

* * *

William stalked around angrily in the woods, wondering aimlessly. He was supposed to be looking for his cousin, but he was not the man's keeper. He did not work for him. But he had to put up a front to make it look as if he was concerned about his cousin and the alliance that was to be formed between England and Spain. Well he did care about the alliance. After all, if it weren't for his damned cousin he could be the one marrying the duchess. He could be the King of England and have a high pulling rank in Spain. Not to mention the duchess first cousin was the newly crowned king of Spain. He smiled at the thought, ruler of one country and his right hand man would be the ruler of another. He realized he was coming upon the pond that they used to frequent years ago. He decided he might go for a swim since the weather had gotten warmer. He thought he may as well have done something to pass the time while he was supposed to be looking for his cousin.

He realized he would have to hike down the side of the cliff as he had entered the area from the top of the stream before the descent of the waterfall.

"Aww bloody hell," he spat quietly to himself as he descended the pathway. It was a steep path, and he thought it required too much work to get down. When he became king he would never work this hard. He would have someone carry him if need be.

He did a double take as he passed along the path that offered a view of the back of the waterfall. His eyebrows knitted in confusion as he walked closer to the edge of the path, careful not to fall off. His mouth fell open when he realized he had done the one thing he had been told to do and had meant not to do. He had found his cousin, and from the looks of it, he was not alone. The surprised look on his faced turned into a smile as he watched the girl he had been trying to get next to arch against the wall her body was currently being pressed into, her legs wrapped tightly around his cousin's hips. He watched as Greg took the opportunity to press his mouth to the soft skin of her neck and shoulders and his hand went up to caress her face. Her mouth fell open and her fingertips dug into the flesh of his shoulders as he did God knows what to her under the water. He eased closer to the edge of the pathway to try to get a better view of her body, but he could not. His limited position on the path, and the fact that their bodies seemed to be fused together stopped him from getting to see what he so badly wanted to see.

His smile grew larger as another thought came to his mind. He had found his cousin, and he was sure his uncle would like to know where he was. He stared at them for a little while longer, making sure he wouldn't get to see any part of the young woman's body before he began to make his way back up the path. This would be good. Surely he would have to be closer to becoming king after Greg has pulled this little stunt.

* * *

"Hmm," Annalisa turned to look at him as she bit into the truffle. "Did you by any chance, change the palace recipe for truffles? These taste oddly like my mother's."

He only looked up at her and smiled as he saw her smiling at him. "No, I did not," he started. He would not feed into her sarcasm. "The little house mom must have converted the workers."

The smile on her face disappeared at the unwanted nick name he had given her cousin. "Her name is Cecily," she scowled at him.

"Sure it is," he said knowing it would only anger her more. She rolled her eyes at him and decided that she would ignore him for a little while.

He laughed quietly already knowing her plan. He had quickly learned which buttons to press to get her angry. Come to think of it, he had come to know a lot about her. Her likes and dislikes, what made her sad or what made her happy. When she was lying and faking her confidence about something, which she did a lot if only to let him know that just because she was a woman that didn't make her any less capable of doing anything that he could do. But there were still times when she would surprise him and leaving him guessing as to what she was talking about or her motives for doing whatever she did. He smiled at the thought.

They had already eaten a fair share of the food that he had brought with them, which to no surprise of hers, was way too much food for two people. But that was the royal family. Always excessive when some people had nothing. He was about to speak unti he heard some voices nearby. She must have heard them too as she turned to him. She was about to speak, but he held a finger to his lips quieting her. He knew those voices. It soon returned to him that he was not supposed to be there. He wasn't supposed to be anywhere near there, as he was supposed to be on his way to Spain. And he definitely wasn't supposed to be there with her.

He got up quickly, his sense of panick causing her to rise quickly too. He threw everything in the basket quickly, making sure not to forget anything. She looked around too afraid to say anything, and knowing they were close to being caught.

"Com'on," he said grabbing her hand and leading them away from the voices.

* * *

They had safely made it back onto the palace ground without being caught. Now the only thing would be sneaking back into his room and acting as if he had been there the whole time. He had dragged her along with him seeing as everywhere they turned, there was someone that would out them to his father. So with having no better place to stash her for the time being, he pulled her into his bedroom behind him, the place she had been forbidden to go.

"I'm not supposed to be in here," she said pulling away from his grasp.

He looked back at her ready to argue with her about where else she would go for now, but he saw the look of fear on her face and opted for an explanation instead of an argument. Before he could get the first word out though, there was a thundering at the door.

"Open this door right now boy!," the king yelled from the other side of the door.

"Oh for heaven's sake, calm down," he heard his mother's voice say.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" his father yelled back. "He could very well have ruined the alliance today. I can only hope that the note I sent ahead is received favorably by the king and the duke."

"Hello father," Greg said enthusiastically knowing full well now was not the time for his sarcasm. "Mother," he acknowledged.

The woman had to fight to keep a smile from coming to her face. She knew this routine. He was up to something. No, was already done with whatever he had been up too and he was currently trying to hide his hands.

"Where have you been?" the king asked as he barged into his son's room with Peter, James, and the queen behind him.

"It is so nice to see you all," Greg said, seemingly unfazed by his father's obvious temper.

The man stopped in front of him, still waiting for an answer.

"I had some business to tend to," Greg started. "I found out about it late last night and decided it needed to be taken care of before I left for Spain. I was going to tell you, but everyone was asleep and I didn't want to wake anyone."

"If that is true, why did William tell me that he saw you out somewhere with that girl?"

Greg's face distorted into one of believable confusion. "What girl?"

It took everything James had for him to stop himself from laughing. You would have thought that his friend was the best stage actor in England instead of the heir to the throne. He didn't know if Greg had been with Lisa or not, but he did know that he knew what girl his father was talking about.

"Do not play dumb with me," he said.

"I am not playing dumb," Greg started with his charade again. "I only asked what girl you were talking about."

"You know what girl?" the king yelled.

"No," Greg said calmly, "I do not."

"That girl I told you to stay away from," the king told him.

"Ahhh, that girl," Greg started. "Why, I have not seen her all day. I do not know what you are talking about."

"Then why would William tell," the king started but was cut off.

"William is a no good, two faced, jealous liar that hates me as much as I a hate him. If he were not of the same blood as I am, I would have strangled the life out of him when we were boys. If you really want to question someone, ask him about what happened on the fields that day. I am sure that it was his way of trying to have me killed while keeping his hands as clean as possible," Greg spat out, leaving his father speechless.

The king had known that the boys didn't like each other, at all, but he had had no idea that ther little rivalry had flared up again, or that it wasn't so little anymore.

"I will have a talk with him, but if I find out you are lying," the king started.

"Father, I can assure you I am not lying," Greg told him, "but William on the other hand…," he left the sentence unfinished. "I would not have jeopardized the alliance between England and Spain were it not for a good reason."

The king just eyed his son. He would like to think that the boy had his priorities in the right place, but he could never tell with him. Since he could not prove anything, he turned and left from the room.

James opened his mouth to speak, but Greg beat him to it. "Do me a favor and lock the door will you?"

James looked at him suspiciously, but did as he was asked. When he turned back to his friend, he saw him poke the curtain, that then began moving and giggling. He then saw the raven haired woman that was previously in question step out from behind the curtain. They smiled at each other before she wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped one of his arms around her waist, lifting her from the ledge and placing her onto the floor. They did not let go of each other just yet, as she pulled him down into a kiss.

"What just happened in here?" James asked, clearly dumbfounded by the events that had just taken place.

"Nothing just happened," Greg told him, letting him know this was not to be spoken off ever again.

He rolled his eyes sarcastically before nodding. He wondered if it were possible to get demoted for following the orders of heir to the throne. He didn't know, but he was sure he would find out before the heir of the throne became the ruler of the throne.

* * *

She groaned as she turned over and stretched out her arm. Her eyes fluttered open as it did not come into contact with the warm body that had been there the night before when she had fallen asleep. Then she remembered the reason why he wasn't there. He was well on his way to Spain by now. She was sure that they had left hours ago. She just turned her face slightly into the pillow he had been using the night before and inhaled deeply before staring blankly across the room.

He would be meeting his bride today, the woman he would marry and who would become Queen. He probably wouldn't have anything to do with her when he got back. After all, what would he want with her when he could have a woman of such high status who had been bred to be his other half. The woman who would help him rule his country and bare his children, the future heirs to the throne.

She was brought out of her depressing thoughts when the bedroom door opened.

"Good morning Miss," Amelia said too cheerily for Lisa on a morning like the one she was having. "Breakfast is being served now. I thought you would like to know."

Lisa just looked at her as her eyes filled with water after having realized that she could not stay in bed the whole time and wait for him to come back.

"I'm not hungry," Lisa said quickly turning her head, but Amelia had already seen the first tear that had slipped down her check. She sighed knowing exactly why the girl was upset.

"I'll bring it in and leave it incase you are hungry later," she said before exiting the room. What was she going to do, Amelia thought. She couldn't just stay in bed all day and cry. She would just fall into a state of depression. Maybe Cecily could help.

* * *

**A/N: Again I'm sorry. I'm almost afraid to ask. But could you guys please review. If anyone's still reading that is. Let me know what's off, what's not, if you liked it, how much you hate me for taking so long to update. And I'm almost afraid to ask you guys for filler ideas because every time I do someone comes it with an idea I already have. And it's big ideas. I say filler and you guys give me story lines and huge events...lol. Again, review... please. Now I am going to go and pass out because for some reason, I am extremely tired, extremely early.**


	20. Chapter 20

"Well," Greg said as he and James stepped out of the back of one of the many carriages he and everyone that was sent to tag along with him had arrived in, "at least we won't be living in broken down rubbish."

James looked at him and was silent for a while. "Well were did you think we would be living? The man was next in line for the throne if it were not for his older brother and you are to marry his daughter. You are his guest."

Greg just looked at him and shrugged his shoulder. The truth was he wasn't too happy about having to make such a long trip just to make nice with these people. The man's daughter would basically be inheriting his country once they were married, something neither he nor she could do unless his older brother and his two sons were to drop dead of some fatal disease. Sure he needed this alliance to go through, everyone was counting on him. But truth be told, the people from Spain needed this alliance as well. There was some crude rumblings coming from the east and he did not like the way things were starting to go. Sure nothing was probably going to happen for a while, but he was bred to be on high alert with these kinds of things, and he often was pretty good at predicting how they would turn out. He just wished that they would diffuse the situation before something larger did become of it. If anything were to happen, he was sure that he would have inherited the throne by the time it did, and he would have to lead his country into war. And though he had a lot of confidence in his leadership abilities and the people he had chosen to be on his parliament, he would admit, if only to himself that he wasn't sure that he would be able to bring his country through a war.

"Welcome," he heard an all too cheery voice say breaking him from his thoughts. He looked over to see an older, slightly round man making his way towards him. He knew the man, though he hadn't seen him since he was a boy. This was his soon to be father in law. He put on a smile that was only half fake and engaged the man in a firm handshake. "I'm glad to see everyone made it here okay," he continued. "Did you run into any trouble along the way?"

"No," Greg told him, "none to much."

"Well that's great," he said as he patted Greg's shoulder and began to lead him towards the stairs of the palace. "Let's not keep you waiting too long. She's been waiting for your arrival since I told her you were coming, and I'm sure you are just as eager to meet the woman you are to marry."

Greg just nodded. The truth was he was a little anxious to meet her, but he didn't really know what to do. Being the heir to the throne, he was never really allowed to fraternize with any females on a level more than friends or professionally. Well other than his concubines, but they were given to him to sow his royal oats so that he could later engage in the marriage that had been arranged for him. That way, he would be able to satisfy his urges without getting caught up in some scandal. The closest thing he had ever had to a real relationship with another woman was with Lisa. Suddenly he stopped thinking about the woman waiting at the end of the hall behind the large doors that were now in front of him, and his thoughts became fixed on the one he had left behind. That was until the guards at the doors pushed them open and he quickly turned into ambassador mode.

There were about seven people in the room, a couple of men and the rest young women that looked to be around his age. His eyes quickly went to the woman he was to marry, as he recognized her from the picture. She smiled as she stood, and her father just looked between them with a huge, goofy grin on his face causing Wilson, Alex, and the other girls in the room to have to stifle their laughter. He silently walked over to her, knowing that he was expected to take control of the situation now, and held out his hand. She placed her hand in his and he bent slightly to place a kiss upon it. The other girls in the room giggled and her smile brightened. James couldn't help but to smile. He was ecstatic that his friend didn't seem like he was going to make him regret ever agreeing to come on this trip by blowing this completely.

"It is my pleasure," Greg said as he looked into her eyes. He had to admit, he had not gotten the short end of the stick on this deal. She was beautiful. Yes, this could have gone worst for him. From the way the girl stared dreamily back at him, he could tell that she felt the same way.

* * *

"I got you," Lisa said as the little girl squealed in her arms and began giggling. She, Amelia, Cecily, and Giselle were currently in the palace fields playing hide and go seek with a few of the laborers' children. She had only been depressed about his departure for the first day. The second day Cecily wouldn't leave her alone until she went out for a walk in the pastures with her. Seeing the beginnings of a new spring, and the constant reassurance from the girls around her that knew about her situation with the prince that he would indeed be back, served to cheer her up. The four year old little girl, Maggie, continued to giggle as Lisa scooped her up and began tickling her.

"Isn't that sweet," Lisa's heart stopped as she quickly turned around clutching the child in her arms. She knew that voice even before she saw his face. He had that eerie smirk on his face that made her blood run cold.

"Who is he, Lisa?" the little girl ask, quickly becoming frightened herself after sensing Lisa's fear. She did not answer the little girl. He took a step towards them and she took a step back, holding the little girl who had now began to cling closer to her. She didn't know if she was holding on so tight in order to protect the child or herself. It was clear now though that whatever the reason was, she was not getting rid of Maggie anytime soon, as the little girl threw her arms around her and burried her face into her neck. She started rubbing small circles in child's back trying to soothe her, which did not escape William.

"You know," he started as he inched slowly towards her. She wanted to move away but the fear that not too long ago prompted her to keep her distance had her now frozen in her place. "You would make a great mother," he continued. "It's too bad that you will never get the pleasure of baring children."

"Shh," she shushed the child in her arms who had just whispered to her that she was afraid. He began circling her and she lowered her head, trying to avoid eye contact. She whispered something to the little girl before putting her down. The child then started running through the fields in the direction which Lisa knew Cecily and Giselle were still playing with the other children. She was alone in this one now. The person who would normally save her was hundreds of miles away. She had never realized how much she needed him or how much comfort and safety he provided until he was not around to save her.

"My cousin," William said as he stopped directly in front of her, "he will throw you away as soon as he returns. You will soon no longer be of any use to him."

She didn't answer him, instead her eyes were searching the ground for a large stick or rock she could use as a weapon if need be, but his words were not escaping her.

"But," he started again in a more upbeat tone, "you are a lucky one. I can do something for you that he can't. I can give you children."

Her head shot up and her eyes met his. "I would not dare soil my womb to bare your wretched offspring. I should rather die barren than to…"

Before she could finish she felt the back of a hand coming into contact with her right check. Her back hit the tree under which they were standing .

"How dare you, you filthy whore?" William yelled at her, as she nursed her wound. A bruise was sure to come from this. Tears began to slide down her cheeks as he continued to yell. "You should be honored that I would even make such an offer to you. You are used and worn, and no man will ever want to marry you. You will always be someone's whore. I was trying to be nice to you to offer you the chance at something you want. You should have taken the offer. Because your 'prince' is not here to save you now," he spat with malice at the mention of his cousin. "And rest ashore, I will have my way with you before he returns."

She thought she would puke at his last words. Her heart fell to her stomach. She faintly heard someone yelling her name over her own tears. Soon the other girls appeared through the tall grasses. They took one look at William and then Lisa who was slumped next to the tree holding her cheek with one hand. Cecily and Amelia quickly made it to her side, knowing that he had hit her, as Gieselle sent a cold glare William's way. He glared back at her before turning and leaving them.

The girls all gathered around her as Cecily assessed the new bruise that was forming on her swelling cheek.

"I have to leave," she told them as she pushed Cecily's hand away. She was fine, well maybe she wasn't, but it would be nothing compared to what would happen if she stayed at the palace with William.

"What?" Cecily asked, not knowing the threat William had just made.

"He will not leave me alone," Lisa told her. "Not as long as he knows where I am."

"She's right," Gieselle added.

"Well she can't just leave the palace," Amelia chimed in with the little piece of information she had overheard. "The prince has people watching her."

Lisa was a little surprised as she didn't think that he still thought that she would run away the first clear chance she got. But there were more pressing matters to be dealt with now.

"You can stay with me," Cecily stated. "In the servants chambers."

"What?" it was now Lisa's turn to question. "How will that help?"

"He won't bother you there," Gieselle reasoned. "He will try to find you. But we can tell all of the servants to say that they haven't seen you. They will defy him far easier than they would the prince. They all hate him as do I. He will never lower himself to actually come down and look for you himself. He wouldn't dare associate with the likes of such people." The girl said in a way as not to offend anyone. They could tell from her tone and her demeanor as they watched William disappear from view on the other end of the field that she was speaking the words he would use and she hated him just as much as they did.

All the girls turned to Lisa to assure that she would be comfortable with this arrangement. She only nodded in response.

* * *

"Please," Anastacia started as she and Greg walked through the garden, "you must forgive my father. He is just very excited about your arrival, and the marriage," she paused and looked up at him, "and you and I finally meeting." She smiled and he smiled back. They had finally managed to get away from all of the commotion of his arrival. He hated the fuss, most of the time, and figured if he asked for time alone with her it would surely be granted.

"It's quite alright," he said. "I'm used to it by now."

"I bet you are," she said looking dreamily into his eyes. He shifted uncomfortably. It's wasn't that he didn't find her attractive, because he did. It also wasn't that he was repulsed by her manner because she was actually a nice girl, and it seemed that he could get along with her. He just didn't expect her to be falling this hard for him already. He knew that she had been groomed and bred her entire life to be his bride and the queen of England. He had also endured the same coaching towards her, but one could not be taught to fall in love with another, he thought. But it seemed that she had been taught just that. He felt a little bad about not feeling the same way, at least not yet. But he was sure given a little time, he could learn to appreciate her as his wife.

"Shall we," he said motioning back towards the castle. She smiled again before taking his arm, and they headed back towards the castle.

"Thank goodness you are back," James said as he mad his way over to the prince and his soon to be bride, almost running from the people that were making a fuss over him since Greg hadn't been there.

"Mr. Wilson, the duke was ," a pale thin man stopped short as he walked back into the room with a smile on his face. The smile widened upon seeing the duchess and the prince together. It seemed he forgot about James as his attention went to the soon to be wedded couple.

"That is Armando," Anastacia whispered to Greg, "my father's stooge." Greg looked down and smiled at her. She too had nick names for her father's buffoons.

"Oh, your majesty," he said as he took long strides towards them. It is so nice to meet you he said bowing before jubilantly shaking his hand. "The king has just returned and he and the queen are currently preparing for dinner tonight. I will show you to your quarters so you can get ready if you'd like."

Greg smiled and nodded his head. The man started in one direction and Greg and James followed.

* * *

"It will be fine, you'll see," Amelia said as Cecily soothingly stroked Lisa's hair. "He won't even think to come down here. He doesn't even remember that these floors exist unless he wants something done or someone has messed something up. Even then, he just sends someone to yell at us. And I've already alerted everyone that if anyone of his men comes looking for you to tell them that they have not seen or heard from you."

"See," Cecily said trying to reassure her also, "it will all work out. You can hide out here until the prince gets back."

She closed her eyes tightly as the tears started to fall. Greg wouldn't be back for a few weeks. She doubted if she could stay hidden from William for so long, but she prayed that she could.

* * *

"I think he likes you," Lisa said, as she, Amelia, and Cecily walked down the corridors of the lower floors.

"Well I think you both are mad," Amelia told Lisa with a stern look as she grinned from ear to ear. She then looked to Cecily who was walking on the other side of her with a matching grin. "Both of you," she added.

It had been a few weeks and they had all successfully managed to stay out of William's path. They had heard that someone had come to the floors looking for Annalisa, but everyone had kept their word and kept her whereabouts a secret. They didn't know if he was still looking, but the prince would be back in a couple of weeks and Lisa was becoming more anxious for his return. She tried to keep busy, but between missing him so much, trying to stay hidden from William, and wondering if the prince would still want to have anything to do with her when he returned, she didn't know if she would last until he returned.

"Oh, what is so bad about him?" Cecily asked. "He is handsome, kind, and he likes you."

"And you like him," Lisa added, before Amelia could reply.

"I do not," she defended as stopped in her tracks.

"You do to," Cecily told her as she and Lisa turned to face the girl. "When he came into the courtyard and accidently bumped into you, you couldn't get out a single coherent sentence and you kept dropping things."

"Not to mention your face turned as red as Cecily's does when James stares at her," Lisa added, causing Cecily to hit her lightly on the arm.

"We are talking about her and Edward," Cecily told her in disbelief she had gotten dragged into this somehow. "I don't think my relationship with Mr. Wilson has anything to do with this."

"Since when did you start calling him Mr. Wilson?" Lisa asked with a playful smile.

Cecily's face turned a slight shade of red as she turned back to Amelia as she decided to ignore Lisa and turn the focus back to Amelia.

"It is easy for anyone to see that you are in love with him," she told Amelia.

"I am not in love with him," the girl retorted.

"Oh hello Edward," Lisa said convincingly looking behind Amelia.

The girl visibly stiffened before quickly turning to look behind her. After realizing no one was there, she turned back to Cecily and Lisa who had knowing smirks on their faces. She blushed before she quickly turned away from them and started towards the kitchen again.

* * *

"I cannot wait until the ball," Anastacia said as she and Greg walked through the market arm in arm. "I've heard how extravagant it is."

"Well it is one of the biggest events my mother and father give," he said, smiling at her genuine enthusiasm.

"I only hope that I am received acceptingly," she stated her apprehension.

"They will love you," he told her, causing her to smile up at him. He had actually grown to like her during the few weeks they had been there. She was nice and sweet. The people of England, and his mother, would love her. She was the perfect match to his usually abrasive side, but what had yet to be seen was if she could call him on it. He liked her a lot and he wanted to embrace that feeling fully, but something was stopping him from doing so, and he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

They continued to walk through the market until a blue sapphire stone caught his eye at one of the jewelry stands. It reminded him of someone who he had been trying not to think of for the past few weeks. It was almost the same color that her eyes were when she was angry with him or when she was pleased with him. He had noticed that her eyes turned this color when she experienced an intense emotion. He walked over to the stand, and the woman on his arm followed obediently.

He took it in his hand and observed it closely. It was now that he realized how much he missed her since he had been ignoring that feeling since he had come to Spain.

"May I help you, sir," the man said with a pleasant smile.

"Yes," Greg said finally taking his eyes off of the stone. "How much for the stone?"

"Fifty pieces of gold," the man told him.

Without hesitation, he reached into his pocket and paid the man, who then handed him the necklace. He stared at it, knowing she would love it.

"Didn't know you were a jewel connoisseur," she told him. He turned to her, then decided to stuff the jewel into his pocket.

"I'm not," he told her. "It is a gift."

"Well I'm sure whoever it is for will like it," she told him, figuring it was a gift for his mother.

* * *

A/N:Whew! So I know its been a while, but not as long as last time so that's a plus. I know the chapters are shorter, but I figure something is better than nothing. Plus I think its good that they are shorter since this his some in between time stuff, so this is actually working out. Some more of the action is about to kick in. As always PLEASE REVIEW to let me know if I'm doing a good job and also if you guys have any interactions you want to see between the characters, I figured asking for this instead of ideas may explain what I mean by fillers...maybe, lol. But **REVIEW!**


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Okay so this is my last season of watching house unless Lisa Edelstein comes back. I mean really, what's the point of ending a series and having one of the original cast members leave the season before the last season. That's just stupid. At least try to maintain all the original cast members you can for the last season to give the season more meaning and go out with a bigger bang. At first I read that she was getting 2 million for season 8 which I was like, wait that's not that bad at all (but keep in mind I am a student), but then I read that before she would have been making close to 4 million if she had done every episode in the season before the pay cut, and I was like whoa, that's almost a 50% pay cut. Then I was like now I understand better, seeing it in perspective. And seriously FOX, ya'll couldn't have gotten rid of Taub and give her his salary or at least split it between her, RSL, and Omar Epps. They deserve it more than him. Plus I love the way all of the naive people are happy that she's leaving and think the show will get better. News flash she doesn't write the shows, truth is the writing had declined horribly in this series. They have changed most of the character's personality including Foreman's who I (I think along with most people) absolutely loved in the first few seasons and whose character interacted well with House. They've brought house through this whole range of emotional ups and downs when I think honestly, if they had written the character true to the first few seasons would have been like to hell with all of this emotional bull less than half way through. Then they gave us the illusion that House and Cuddy were hooking up when most people would have liked it or at least accepted it, only to be like sike, he was hallucinating. Then they make us hate Cuddy for being with Lucas (I mean seriously if you were going to give us someone to hate her over, you could have at least given us some eye candy, which would also made it more understandable as to why she had hooked up with him in House's absence, pfft) only to then let her and House hook up for real this time now that we semi hate her. Then you allow her to almost make up for it, and we start to accept the relationship and then you make House go and take vicodin. I mean honestly for a character that was ultimately supposed to be and stay such a smart/bad ass, they really have house looking like soft, dumb ass who can't control his emotions. I mean of course we all know house is a softee at heart, which is most bad asses, but the thing that makes them bad asses is that they refuse to show that soft side. They will suffer in private and lash out at others. I know he supposedly "lashed out", but I'm just saying it's not one of his stronger skills. I could have written his lashing out better. But anyways, I guess it's okay, now I get to ignore anything that has FOX written on it now since that was the only thing I watched on it regularly. Don't get to catch the Simpson's that much (It's not balanced...lmao). Here goes this chapter, sorry for the long rant...lol.

* * *

"Well," Greg started, "I was thinking we should head back a few days earlier before you worry yourself to death."

James just looked at him dumbfounded. "What do you mean? You can't leave early. You are here on business."

"No," Greg started to correct him, "I was here on business. I've already entertained her father and cousin, now I'm just playing nice in order to give them the illusion that we are already allies."

"I don't see how you can separate the two," James told him.

"Do you or do you not want to go back in order to give her that thing?" Greg asked.

James just looked at him for a while before he managed to speak, "What thing?"

"The ring," Greg told him. "That is unless you don't think that she will accept it."

"What ring?"

"Don't play stupid with me," Greg told him. "You've been toying with it in your pocket for the last hour. Plus I saw you looking like you were going to throw up when you were trying to choose which one to buy at the jeweler's stand."

James just looked down at his pocket which held the piece of jewelry. "Do you think she'll accept it?"

"I don't know," Greg started. "It depends."

"On what?" James asked thinking the man knew something that he didn't.

"If you infer that she and her family are to live in the servant's chambers after your marriage," Greg smiled knowing that his friend was still kicking himself for the comment he made that almost cost him the woman he had now obviously fallen in love with.

James opened his mouth to speak, but closed it right back. "That was misinterpreted," he finally got out. "I was referring to you and the restrictions that are placed upon your courtships. I, on the other hand, am lucky enough to not have such requirements of the woman I am to marry."

Greg twisted his mouth up as he looked up towards the ceiling. "I can marry whomever I choose," Greg told him. "She is just a suggestion. It just so happen sthat I like her."

"If it helps you sleep," James said as he put his head on his shoulder before walking away.

* * *

The girls were giggling as they sat around talking about the men they were currently courting. They had finally convinced Amelia to be nice to Edward and not soon after they had began their courtship. Annalisa shared in this with them, but was a little torn. She was sad because they talked about Evan, who she wasn't even sure was still alive, and the prince, that was currently away and whom she would never be able to share a courtship with. She was a little happy on the other hand because he was scheduled to return home in a little over a week.

Their conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" Cecily asked as it was her room.

"It's me Emma," she heard from the other side of the door.

She rose from the bed and went to open the door. When she did, she saw Alice and Emma standing on the other side with their bags.

"What are you two doing here?" she asked with a confused look as Lisa came to stand by her.

"Mother, said we could come stay a while with you," Emma said happily as she and Alice pushed pass the two older girls and sat their bags down.

"Why?" Lisa asked, as Cecily closed the door and locked it again. They had successfully avoided Wiliam up until this point and didn't want to take the chance of one of his men just barging in.

"Because she said so," Alice said stepping closer to Annalisa. "Is that a problem?"

Lisa just looked at the girl. Ever since she had been summoned to come to the castle, Alice had been a little hostel towards her. She knew that the younger girl was still convinced that she was going to marry the prince, but that would be a sad reality that both of them would have to come to terms with.

"We had been asking her for a while now, and finally she decided to let us come," Emma said. She noticed the confused look on Cecily's face. "Can we stay Sissy?" she asked. She knew she was the one to ask as they would not be able to stay with Lisa in her room. "We won't be a bother, I promise. "

"Of course you can stay," Cecily told them. "I just don't know where we are all going to sleep."

She and Lisa were currently sharing her room and she would not dare send the girls to Lisa's room alone for the fear of William was still lingering around up there.

"We have an extra bed in our quarters," Amelia said. "One of the other maids just got married and her bed hasn't been filled yet."

Emma smiled, while Alice scowled. "Sleep in a maids' quarter," she said with an attitude.

Cecily frowned along with everyone else. "Well you were going to sleep here," Cecily said gesturing to her bed. "It's not any better."

"Or you can sleep on the floor," Lisa told her, earning herself a glare from Alice.

The room became quiet for a while as the two girls stared at each other.

"Well you have a choice," Cecily said breaking the tense silence.

Alice turned her nose up, "Well I guess that will do," she started then looked back at Lisa, "until the prince comes for me at least."

Lisa rolled her eyes and Cecily smiled at her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She knew that if Lisa was as immature as Alice, things could get bad between them fairly quickly, as Lisa was herself was now in love with the prince.

The girls picked up another conversation as Cecily tried to figure out why her aunt had sent the girls to her without any notice. She knew that her aunt knew that she wouldn't mind and that she would look after them while they were there, but Margery would normally give her some notice before doing such a thing. She shook the thought and joined the discussion going on among the other girls.

* * *

"Excuse me your majesty," the young boy said as he walked up to the king and handed them the two envelopes. He bowed slightly before leaving out the way which he had entered.

The king's brows furrowed when he saw that one of the envelopes was from the archduke of Spain and another from his son. He figured that one contained a letter complaining about his son's behavior and the other was a letter of his son trying to explain, so he would read them in that order seeing as how they would both make more sense then.

He opened the archduke's letter and was surprised to see that it was a letter praising his son rather than condemning him.

"Is something wrong?" one of the men from the parliament asked. The king looked up almost forgetting that he was in the middle of a meeting with parliament.

He shook his head, "No, nothing's wrong." He opened the second letter from his son and although he was a little confused as to why the boy was returning earlier than expected, he figured it okay as the archduke couldn't seem to sing high enough praises of the boy. He smiled, feeling a little more comfortable with handing his crown over and having had some good news to deliver to the men sitting in the room with him.

"This letter, gentlemen," he started, "is from the archduke of Spain, and this one is from my son, your future king."

"What did he do now?" William asked.

"Apparently a lot," the king said still baring his smile. "It seems that my son has fulfilled his duties to his country, and our alliance with Spain is stronger than ever. And he will be returning home later this evening."

He knew the boy had made a sudden decision to come home, seeing as the messenger had only gotten there a few hours before he was to arrive, but still, he couldn't be angry.

The men in the room all began to applaud and began individual discussions, that was much more cheery than the mood was previous to the letters. They had been discussing the stirrings in the east, that seemed like they were starting to die down, and some members had been voicing their concerns about Greg taking over as king. Now everyone seemed a little more confident in him, all except for one person that is.

William's face showed one of anger as he got up from his seat and exited the room. He stalked throughout the castle, finally coming to a room where he knew his men resided.

"Change of plains gentlemen," William told them. "We have to find the girl now. My cousin will be here within a matter of hours, and I want her before he arrives. I want this palace searched throughly until she is found, so find her"

The men just looked at him. "Now!" he bellowed causing all the men to stir from there seats and flock out of the door. He huffed and clenched his fist before pouring himself a drink.

* * *

"Where is the girl?" the one man asked as he forced the woman to look as the other man hit her husband every time she refused to answer him. All of the workers knew they were looking for Annalisa, but they all refused to tell. They would never give up one of their own from someone who not only did they despise, but who wasn't even to be there king. Still she hated to see her husband in such pain. She would have told but…

"Don't tell them," the bloodied man told his wife. "It's okay. I am," before he could finish the man standing over him dealt another blow to his face.

"Shut up!" he spat at the man.

"Where is she?" the man standing next to the woman demanded again as he grabbed her face.

"I will never tell you," she sneered at him.

He just smiled evilly at her. The beater raised his hand again to punch the husband but the other man stopped him.

"Wait," he called. "I have another idea."

He through the woman on the bed and straddled her.

"What are you doing?" the husband asked as the man began to claw at her clothes. The woman screamed.

"Shut up," the man yelled as he slapped her across the face, turning her yell into a soft cry.

"Get off of her," the husband yelled as the more muscular man held him back. "What are you doing? Stop!"

"You don't want to give us what we want," the man said as he ripped the front of the woman's dress open, "then we'll take what's yours."

The husband watched in disbelief as the man began to fondle his wife and brought his lips to her neck.

"Stop!" he yelled. "I will tell you were she is," he said brokenly.

The man grinned as he climbed off of the woman. "Okay then," he said walking over to the husband. "Where is she?"

"She's staying with the other girl, in the cooks' quarters," the husband told him.

The bulkier man pushed him to the floor as they both headed towards the door.

"If she is not there," one of them said as they opened the door to leave the room, "we_ will_ be back."

* * *

The five girls sat in the room not really saying much. They had been hiding out in Cecily's room for the past few hours after hearing that William had sent the forces on a hunt throughout the palace for Lisa. Ameilia had recently left the room to see what she could find out about the latest status of the manhunt, and why all of a sudden William was so hell bent on finding her. They figured he would at least wait until the end of the week when the prince was due back before he went mad.

There was a knock on the door causing all of the girls to jump. "Who is it?" Cecily asked after clearing her throat.

"It's me, Beth," they heard the strain in the woman's voice but figured it was because of her nervousness about the angry men that had been lurking the floors since earlier that afternoon.

They all sighed sighs of relief, figuring the woman was there to update them, or at least bring them food since they had been imprisoned in the room before they had a chance to eat lunch.

Emma got up to open the door, but as soon as the latched turned, she was thrown to the floor as the door was forcefully opened. Beth followed soon behind her as the man pushed her to the floor next to Emma. All of the girls immediately jumped to their feet.

"They're you are," one of them said with a slimy grin, as he eyed Lisa.

She backed into a corner trying to stay far away from him. Cecily stepped between them as did Giselle.

"Leave her alone," Giselle told him. "She is not William's, she is the prince's." Lisa would have spoken up at this but she was too afraid to. And if that would get them to leave her alone so she wouldn't have to face William, she would gladly be labeled the prince's.

"Get out of my way you whore," the man spat at her. She responded by spitting in his face.

The man wiped his face with his hand, before using the same hand to back hand her to the floor.

"Please don't," Cecily cried out as the man grabbed Lisa. The two girls held on to each other as Alice stood dumbfounded in the other corner. Sure she hated her cousin because she was trying to steal her prince from her, but she had never wished anything like this on the girl. She wanted to help, but she was frozen with fear.

Emma whoever, had managed to get up. She was about to go and help the other girls fight off the man, but the second man caught her and threw her violently to the bed. He then grabbed Cecily, and he and the other man pried them apart. He then threw Cecily against the wall, her back making hard contact with the hard surface and she slid to the floor.

She quickly pushed the pain away though as she heard her cousin yelling her name as she was dragged from the room.

"Lisa," she said as she pushed herself from the wall and began following the men. "Please let her go," she pleaded with them. Alice, Emma, and Gieselle followed.

About thirty seconds later, Amelia appeared in the doorway. She searched the room, which looked as if a storm had hit it and then looked to Beth, who was just making her way up off of the floor.

"What happened in here?" she asked with a shocked look.

"They took Lisa," Beth managed to get out.

"Oh no," Amelia said before she began running down the corridor. She had come back to tell the girls that she had found out some great news. On her search for information, a huge commotion had begun just outside of the palace walls. She asked what was going on and one of the guards informed her that the prince had returned early.

She ran through the palace, her only thought being getting to the prince. She knew that he was the only one that could and would save what had become her friend. She ran as fast as she could to the front entrance of the palace, knowing no one would pay her any mind since everything was in an uproar at the surprise of the prince returning early.

She pushed her way through the crowd that now stood inside the palace walls. She smiled when she saw him, and began to push towards him, but was stopped short by the guards. She immediately began to call his name, but soon saw it a futile effort as many welcomer's were yelling his name. But she spotted James walking closely behind him.

* * *

"You thought you could escape me," William said as he pulled Annalisa towards her bedroom she had been avoiding for the last few weeks.

"Let her go William," Giselle spat as they followed close behind. The two men from earlier keeping them from actually getting there hands on William.

"I will let her go," William laughed, "after I am through with her."

"You are hurting me," Annalisa said as she tried to wiggle from his grip. She had tried to drag her feet earlier, which she figured would delay the inevitable if not prevent it, but he only responded by squeezing her tighter, and demanding she walk faster.

"Shut up," he spat at her.

"Please," Cecily pleaded again, "just let her go."

William stopped in front of the bedroom and looked back at the women that had followed him down the hall.

"Make sure no one disturbs us," he said before opening the door and pushing Annalisa in ahead of him. The two girls went for the door but the two men guarding the door stopped them.

The shove he had given Lisa had caused her to fall to the floor. Now she slid slowly backwards as he walked towards her with that grin that made her skin crawl.

He bent down and picked her up from the floor, but she began fighting him.

* * *

"Greg," James whispered as he tried to hold his smile as they were still in front of a huge crowd.

"What now?" Greg asked. "Do you not have other business to attend to."

"I do," James told him. "I just thought you would want to know that I've been informed that William has recently gotten his hands on your latest prize."

Greg's smiled dropped as he looked at James. "How recently?"

"You need to find her now if you want to stop him," James told him.

Greg looked around him and saw that he was very close to the steps of the palace. Forcing the smile to return to his face, he made haste of running up the stairs and making his way inside of the palace where Amelia was waiting impatiently for them.

"They've gone to the concubine's quarters," she told them as she began to follow them. She had made use of the time they used to make it through the remainder of the crowd to find out the girl's location.

Greg heard the people behind him yelling and asking him where he was going, but he was happy that James was there as the man quickly dropped from his side to defend his actions. He had no idea what lie he would make up, but he had good faith in his friend that it would be a good one. Greg quickly made his way through the palace. He turned the corner onto the corridor which housed Lisa's bedroom and knew he was in the right place as he saw the guards keeping the four girls from entering the room.

"Open the door," he bellowed not quite to the door yet.

All of their eyes flew to him. Cecily felt a flutter of relief, but it didn't last long as she didn't know if they were already too late.

"Your majesty," one of the guards said shakily. "I didn't know you…"

"Open the door!" he yelled again causing the man with the keys to quickly turn to unlock the door. He had no use of hearing their excuses. He knew that William had his on subset of men in the castle and that they all had a part in this, but they all knew that he trumped William.

The door flew opened just as he reached it and his eyes grew at what he saw. William had his hand around Lisa's neck, effectively pinning her to the bed. Her hands clawed desperately at his as she struggled to breath. He took advantage of the fact that her hands were preoccupied with trying to save her life to raise her dress midway her stomach. He was brought of his shocked state as he heard the sound of fabric being ripped. The small piece of fabric fell to the floor and she managed a whimper, he realized that it was her panties. He made quick strides towards them and pulled William away from her. He pushed him and the man fell to the floor.

He heard Annalisa take a big gulp of air behind him, and vaguely noticed Cecily running towards her as he stared at William in disgust. The man had already freed his manhood from his trousers and was now trying to put it back in.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Willam spat looking up at Greg as he zipped up his trousers.

Greg didn't answer. He turned to see that Lisa had crawled to the far side of the bed and pulled her knees to her chest. She clung to Cecily as the girl hugged her trying to calm her down. Her dress was ripped some and she had tears running down her face. He was happy that he had gotten there in time, but he felt his skin getting hotter as he turned back to William who was now making his way up from the floor. He wondered what all happened when he left away from the castle.

"Why are you here?" William spat. Greg only responded with a blow to the face. The two men began to brawl and the guards just looked at them, not sure of what to do. It wasn't everyday that they saw the heir to the throne and the second in line for the throne get into an all out brawl. Normally they would side with the prince, and though the two men both seemed to be landing some pretty healthy punches, it seemed that Greg was getting the better of him, so they didn't know if or how to intervene.

Luckily James and Alex came to the room and pulled them apart before one of them got seriously hurt, though they both were bleeding by now. The two men just glared at each other. Alex pushed William towards the guards, and they escorted him from the room.

"Your mother and father are looking from you," James told him.

He had managed to fabricate a lie when he stormed off before, but it would be pretty hard for any of them to explain how he had ended up in the room of the concubine he had been all but prohibited from seeing only moments after arriving from Spain paying a visit to his future wife and her family.

Greg looked at him and finally his angered subsided enough for him to put together a rational thought. He turned towards Lisa who was still clinging to Cecily, as was Cecily to her.

She looked up at him, fear still in her eyes, and he wanted nothing more than to hold her. But he couldn't now. He also didn't really know what to say, he felt stupid for leaving her with no protection from William. He just had never thought about the fact that William was so low as to use his absence to attack her. He finally managed to tear his eyes away from her and walked out the door, James and Alex following him.

Lisa's brows furrowed at this. She wanted to get up and run into his arms and make him promise to never let her go, but she knew that wouldn't be accepted. And from the way things looked, he didn't want to be near her right now. She felt Emma and Alice sit down behind her and begin to rub her back, as she burried her head in Cecily's shoulder and began to cry harder.

He was repulsed by her. She had almost let another man have her and he had witnessed it, now he wanted nothing to do with her.

"Shh," Cecily shushed her. "It's okay now. He won't bother you anymore. Greg is back."

Lisa continued to cry. For all she knew he was going to now freely give her to William and anyone else who wanted her. She no longer held any value to him.

* * *

It was later in the evening now and things had began to quiet down around the castle, from what they could tell anway. Lisa had refused to leave her room, other than to take a bath. She could still feel William's hands clawing at her and she wanted to get out of the clothes and clean her skin as soon as possible. Cecily had sent Emma and Alice to get cleaned up for bed after dinner, so they were currently on the laborer floors.

Lisa lay with her head in Cecily's lap as the girl gently ran her fingers through her curls.

"I think you are wrong?" Cecily told her. "I don't think he will get rid of you so easily."

Lisa had voiced her concerns to her about the prince not wanting anything to do with here anymore after what had happened. "Why else would he beat William so badly," Cecily smiled.

Annalisa gave the faintest of smiles. "He has not said a word to me since he returned," she told her sadly.

"Lisa," Cecily told her brushing the curls from her face. "He could not stay with you, even if he wanted to. He is the prince for heaven's sake."

"But I don't want him to be the prince," she told him.

"Aww, Anna," Cecily said hugging her tighter as the few silent tears fell.

She knew that Lisa really didn't care if he was a prince, a commoner, a trader, or whatever as long as she was free to be with him and him with her. It was just that title of prince made that impossible. She knew that her cousin was not thinking straight, but after the events of the day she could not blame her. She knew Lisa just wanted Greg to stay with her and comfort her and that was all that mattered because she was traumatized, but the fact that he had to go and report to his parents then put on face with everyone else in order to keep them all out of trouble didn't really register to her because of it.

"I wanna tell you a tale my mother used to tell me," Cecily told her.

Lisa looked up at her and smiled, "I am not a child, Sis," she told her.

"I know," Cecily told her, "but I think you'll like it. So quiet and let me tell it."

Cecily began telling her a story of a common girl that had nothing and was forced to work for wealthy family that had three daughters, all of them spoiled. Just for fun, she named one of the girls Mary. Lisa laughed at this, as Cecily continued to tell the story, soon switching focus to bring in the character of a charming prince.

Lisa sat, listening intently to the story. She was happy for the distraction. She was able to focus on the story instead of having flashbacks of William hovering over her and pawing at her or Greg walking away from her. Lisa was lost in the story, and jumped when they heard a knock on the door.

Cecily tightened her arm around her as she felt the girl stiffen.

"Who is it?" Cecily asked.

"Alex," the voice on the other side of the door replied.

Cecily slowly got up from the bed and opened the door, only to find Alex's kind face smiling back at her.

"Hello," he said stepping into the room.

"Hello Alex," she replied, happy to now be seeing some comforting faces wondering the palace again. It's not that everyone around the palace was bad or on William's side. It's just that they were oblivious to the little situation that they had all created for themselves. Of course they were oblivious to it to, but they all knew it existed, it was a secret, and they were in on it, like it or not.

He turned to Lisa. "I've been sent to escort you to your new living quarters."

Lisa looked at Cecily with a confused look.

"New living quarters?" she replied.

"Yes, Prince Greg is moving you closer to him," Alex told her. He knew he didn't need to explain more.

She still looked confused. "Lisa," he started again, "if you would please come with me."

Cecily went over to pull her off of the bed as the girl still wasn't moving. She was still trying to make sense of what he was saying.

Alex turned to leave and Cecily pulled Lisa down the hall as they followed him. Cecily was sure they were going to stop soon, but it seemed they kept turning onto more extravagant hallways and she was pretty sure they would be coming upon the prince's room soon. Sure enough they turned onto the corridor that housed the huge doors that lead to his bedroom, but stopped before they could get to the other end of the long corridor where he resided.

Alex stepped aside and held out his hand, gesturing for them to enter. "Your maid has been informed of your new living arrangements and that is Radley," he said pointing to one of the huge men that was obviously a guard on the floor. He has been informed that you are staying and will make sure that no unwanted visitors bother you.

The two girls looked down towards the man who smiled at them as he continued to pace to floors. "Have a good night," Alex said as he turned to leave.

"Wait," Cecily called to him. "Will she not get in trouble for staying here?"

"As with most things," Alex told her, "only a few people know about this, and if all goes well only a few people ever will. The prince has his own personal floor which is far enough away from the king and queen's chambers should not cause any trouble. "

Cecily nodded, understanding that Alex was just as caught up in whatever was happening as she was. Alex left, and the girls closed the door behind him. They then turned to inspect the room.

"This room is beautiful Sis," Lisa told her, still in awe that this room was now hers, for the time being anyway.

"See, I told you he would not throw you away," Cecily smiled at her as she went to sit on the bed.

Lisa returned the smile, but it was forced. He still had not come to see about her. He had been gone for two and a half months, and she missed him, but yet he seemed to be mostly indifferent towards her. She still was not convinced.

* * *

A/N: There goes it. Can you guys please review. And also I remember someone making a comment about more detailed sex scenes and "teaching", anybody have any ideas on that especially as it would acquire to this era of time. And always suggestions are welcomed. Also if ya'll won't me to continue now that once strong infrastructure called House M.D. is starting to crumble before our very eyes. Again **PLEASE REVIEW! AHHHHHHHHH!** whew, just needed to get that out.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Sorry so long to update. But again that thing called life. I was supposed to write ahead but never got a chance to. Maybe I will in the next couple of weeks, but sorry for keeping you guys waiting for so long. I hope you are still reading and enjoying.

* * *

"When will Mother send for them?" Lisa asked Cecily as they both sat in her new spacious bedroom.

"I don't know," Cecily responded, "but I hope it is soon. They are getting on my nerves."

Lisa smiled, a little happy that she wasn't the oldest and had to look over the two girls during their stay. They were supposed to only stay a week, but her mother had sent a letter that morning telling Cecily to keep the girls a little longer. She didn't know why, but didn't really think too much of it.

"You always wanted to order us around," Lisa told her, "serves you right. Now you are in charge even though you don't want to be."

Cecily rolled her eyes playfully, happy to see that her cousin was starting to get some life back into her after the events that had occurred only a few days before. Greg had been back a week and other than the event that occurred with William, he had made no attempt to see Lisa. Cecily continued to try to reassure her, but wasn't so sure of how good of a job she was doing as each day passed with no word from him. Lisa had decided that she had to accept that he wanted nothing to do with her anymore.

Slowly the door opened and both girls looked to see who it was. Emma's head slowly peeked around the door frame. She let out a relieved sigh. "There you are," she said.

The two older girls smiled at the look on her face.

"What is the matter?" Cecily asked.

"Alice!" Emma exclaimed. "She would not stop talking about how she is going to live here one day. She is driving me mad."

Cecily and Lisa both laughed. Before either of them could respond the door opened again. All three of the girls were shocked to see that it was the prince. Lisa felt like her heart jumped into her throat, where she then swallowed it and it fell into her stomach. Her mouth fell open and she looked at Cecily who smiled at her. Emma just stared dumbfounded not yet as accustomed to bein in his presence as the other girls. The prince however was not focused on them, as he held the door open and continued talking with what they assumed was Radley by the sound of the deep voice on the other side of the door.

"How big are you again?" Greg asked rhetorically.

They heard Radley's voice rumble in response about, "What if they come looking for you?"

"Again, how big are you?" Greg asked in response before letting out an exasperated sigh. "Look my father and his goons are preoccupied with more pressing matters. If anyone needs me and they find me down the hall from my bedroom they will think nothing of it. If anyone tries to come here looking for me, do not let them come in…"

"How?" Radley asked.

"I don't know," Greg said sarcastically, "sit on them. If you see anyone coming knock on the door twice and I will come out."

They were both quiet for a while before Greg threw out an,"I heard that."

He scowled at Radley's back before finally turning to the three occupants of the room. He smiled at them as if the conversation they had just heard had never happened.

His eyes then met Annalisa's and his smile faded a little. He had been home a week and had only seen her for a minute at most. His intentions had been to come home, brief his father on his trip, save face with a few important people and by that night have her in his arms, but thanks to William, that had to be put off for longer than he liked.

"Come on Emma," Cecily said as she stood and grabbed Emmas hand leading her towards the door. Cecily stopped next to Greg and looked back at Lisa. She saw the fearful expression her cousin had on her face but she knew everything would turn out fine. The fact that he was here now proved that she was right and Lisa was wrong.

She put one hand on his shoulder causing him to break his stare with Lisa and look down at her. She gave him a soft smile, silently thanking him for rushing to her cousin's rescue since this was also her first time seeing him since the incident. He smiled back at her and gave her a nod. She looked back at Lisa and proceeded to follow Emma out of the room, knowing that her cousin was in good hands.

Greg looked down at the floor until he heard the door close behind him. He knew he wanted to say something, he needed to say something, but everything seemed awkward between them now. First he had left her to go and visit the woman he was to marry. Then coming home to the incident with William, and having realized he had been stupid to leave her alone with him with no guard. Then he had to avoid her for the entire week so no one would get suspicious about where he ran off too immediately after his arrival.

"Why are you here?" she asked causing him to look up at her. He took in the full sight of her as she has stood from the bed. He had almost forgotten how beautiful she was after having been goon for three months. He couldn't tell if she was angry or hurt, but decided to go with angry since he figured she was just as angry with him as he was with himself.

"I know you are angry with me, but I did not think William would be such a coward as…," he was cut off.

"Angry?" she asked confused taking a couple of steps towards him. "Why would I be angry at you?"

"William," he said causing her look to become more solemn. "I did not to tell Radley or anyone…" again he was cut off.

"That was not your fault," she reassured him.

"Yes, it was," he told her. "Before, I had had Radley watch you so you would not leave, but I did not think to have him watch the bloody bastard so he wouldn't…"

"I am not angry at you," she told him knowing that it was no use in convincing him that William attacking her wasn't his fault. It was like a sick game between him and William to see which one could outsmart and one up the other, a game she and many others feared would one day turn deadly.

His brows furrowed in confusion, "Well why did you ask why was I here?"

"Because I wanted to know why you were here," she told him. "You have avoided me for the entire time you have been here," she was getting angrier as she continued talking, realizing the mental hell she had gone through and his audacity to just show up in her room now apologizing for something that she didn't even blame him for but not explaining himself as to why he had been avoiding her. He let her continue to yell at him, which she was unaware she had started doing.

"So," he said once she had finished, "you are angry at me."

Her brows furrowed as she realized she had been yelling and she was now standing directly in front of him. She was so close, she could feel the heat radiating from his body, and for some reason that made her angrier. She let out a frustrated sigh and turned to leave but was quickly pulled back to him, her hands going to his chest as she fell into him. She looked up into his eyes and her expression softened as she fought to hold back tears. This was the first time she had had any kind of physical contact with him in over three months. She had almost forgotten how good it felt to be in his arms, and after the events that had transpired, she needed that security and comfort now more than ever.

Her lips parted immediately as she felt his lips brush softly against hers. Her eyes closed as she felt his arms snake around her waist pulling her further into him. Her fingers gripped his shirt as the kiss intensified. They continued for a few more seconds before they both needed air.

It took her a moment to realize what had happened, but a smile slowly crept to her face.

"So I see you decided to move your family in while I was gone," he told her causing her to giggle.

"Mother," she told him, "she sent them to spend some time with Cecily."

She stared at him and started to become a little worried when his face turned serious again. He didn't want to push the issue but the question had been eating him alive for the past week.

"Did he hurt you?" he asked seriously.

She looked up at him seeing the worry on his face, and for a second thought this might be a little more than not allowing William to beat him at their little game.

"No," she shook her head, "he did not."

"Are you sure?" he asked her. "Because if he did…"

"He didn't," she reassured him. She opted not to tell him about the back hand she had received to the face, knowing that he was mostly referring to any more events like the one he had walked in on and opting not to get him all worked up over something that could not be changed now.

"He didn't hurt me," she said quietly as she stood on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, signaling him to wrap his arms around her once more. "I missed you," she told him, and felt him smile against her cheek.

She lay on her stomach, propped up on her elbows looking at him. He lay on his back looking up at the ceiling as he told her about his trip to Spain. He had been careful not to mention the duchess and she had been careful not to ask any questions that would cause him to bring her up.

Something was bothering her though. Other than the kiss they had shared earlier, he hadn't made any kind of move to become intimate with her. Before he had left, it was as if he could rarely be near her without touching her. She still felt like he was repulsed by her. She wanted to be intimate with him, she missed being so close to him. She also needed to feel wanted and loved again after the attack. She needed to either prove or disprove to herself that he wanted nothing to do with her in that way or else she would go crazy.

She gazed over his features as he talked nonchalantly about what had happened and what he had seen during his trip, and of course condescendingly mocked people who had gotten on his nerves at one point or another during the three month period. He was in the middle of talking about what had happened on their camping trip when he felt her lips smash into his.

He was a little caught of guard at first but quickly regained his composure. He put his hands on her biceps and pushed her back a little, still holding on to her as she hovered above him. "What are you doing?" he asked her still a little surprised by what had happened.

She struggled to hold back her tears, feeling she had been turned down. "You don't…" she started but stopped. "You don't want to touch me anymore."

"What?" he asked still a little confused.

"You hate me," she proclaimed.

"Wha…I do no hate you. Why would you think…," he was cut off.

"You are disgusted by me," she told him. "You think that he touched me."

"I am not disgusted by you," he yelled at her, wondering where all of this was coming from. She had seemed perfectly fine just moments before.

"Then touch me," she yelled back as a few tears finally spilled over.

He searched her eyes and saw that she was still very fragile from what William had done. He had thought that she was over it, she had seemed to be. Sure he hadn't been in contact with her since that day, but he was keeping close tabs on her, and everyone reported she was fine. He had tried to give her space even more so because of what had happened. This was the reason why he hadn't attempted to touch her in an intimate way. He remembered how she had reacted when he had tried to force himself on her, and he didn't want her to reject him or begin to hate him again for not giving her the time she needed.

His hands immediately began drifting from her arms to her waist. He would not resist her pleas to be touched by him, he didn't think he could even if he wanted to. He may have been the future king but he was powerless against her in this area. He pulled her down to him and pressed his lips softly onto hers, causing her to let out a soft sigh. He pulled her closer to him so she was now straddling him as he deepened the kiss.

She felt his hands roaming all over her body and it felt so good. The last person that had touched her like this was William as he pawed at her clothing while she tried to fight him off. She pushed those feelings away from her mind. This was something she wanted, this was her prince. She slowly felt the long gown inching further up, exposing more of her. She felt it pass midway her thighs, then over her bottom, then mid way her back. His hands then began to caress the exposed skin on her back before slipping further down and gripping her backside. She moaned into his mouth. He brought his hands back up to the gown and began tugging it upward. They broke the kiss and she raised her hands over her head, allowing him to remove the piece of clothing. In less than a second, their lips were pressed back against each others. She moaned softly as her hardened nipples pressed up against his muscles.

He kept one arm wrapped around her as he pulled one side of his trousers below his hip, then alternating hands doing the same to the other side. He sat up breaking the kiss, allowing him to push the pants down to his knees as his mouth attacked the flesh of her neck and collar bone. He kicked the pants off as his mouth drifted lower, placing soft kisses on the top of her breasts. His hands went to her hip and he began applying pressure in a back and forth motion, urging her to grind her hips against his. She complied.

She felt him push her up a little so their hips were no longer touching. She gasped a little as she felt her panties being ripped from her skin. A moan quickly followed as she felt his warm, wet mouth close around the peak of her breast. She found her fingers tangling into the short locks at the back of his head as she continued to grind against his growing member.

She felt his mouth release her breast and waited for him to flip her over. Instead he just smiled mischievously at her before lying back down. Her brows furrowed in confusion. Had he changed his mind? Was he once again refusing her? Those thoughts left her mind as she felt him pushing her back towards his manhood. She felt him press against her opening and her hands immediately gripped his forearms tightly.

She opened her mouth to protest after realizing that he was not going to take his usual control of their situation. "Relax," he told her cutting her off before she could speak.

She closed her mouth and continued to search his eyes, still unsure of what was about to happen. She gasped at the initial penetration and her eyes closed as her fingernails began to dig into the flesh on his arms as he continued to push his length into her. He stilled his motions and held onto her hips, letting her adjust to his size. She opened her eyes again revealing her dilated pupils. He dug his fingers into the flesh of her hips. He pushed her up, before slamming her back down onto his erection causing her to throw her head back and let out a small scream.

He grunted as he felt her muscles contracting around him as they still stretched to accommodate him. He pushed her hips back and forward causing her to once again pick up the grinding motion she had been doing before. Again, he picked her up slightly before pulling her back down on his erection. Her hands instinctively moved from his forearms to his chest in order to catch her balance as she fell forward a little. He didn't think it was possible, but he became even more turned on as her mouth feel open and some of her long strands of hair fell into her face and she began grinding on top of him, this time without any coercion from him. She felt his member twitch inside of her as his grip tightened on her hips. Knowing what he was about to do, she raised her hips a little before slowly lowering back down again. She heard him grunt out something as his hands moved from her hips and flexed over her bare backside. She moaned and repeated the motion as he continued to palm the naked flesh. Soon, after realizing his approval of what she was doing, she picked up a rhythm of her own. After a few minutes of this, he couldn't hold back any longer. He flipped her onto her back and pushed into her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and gripped his biceps as he continued to pound into her relentlessly. Her fingernails began to dig into his flesh and her toes began to curl as she felt a familiar sensation start to stir in her abdomen.

He noticed her moans and pleas were becoming louder and he knew she was close as her entire body began trembling, so he picked up his pace. She became quiet for a couple of seconds before letting out a scream. He grunted and burried his face in her neck as he continued to push through the contractions of her muscles around his manhood. He too soon felt a familiar sensation in his loins and before long, he released a hot stream inside of her.

She wrapped her arms around him as he collapsed partialy on top of her, both of them trying to catch their breaths. They lay there for about a minute before he felt her placing soft kisses on the side of his neck and face. He smiled and rolled off of her, pulling her partially on top of him. She smiled and curled one of her legs around his before laying her head on his chest. She had been wrong, and Cecily had been right. He still wanted her.

"This better be good," he told the large man standing at the door of the bedroom down the hall from his. Radley just rolled his eyes and held out the letter he had managed to intercept from the messenger that was searching for him. He knew the rules. Only a few people were supposed to know of the dealings of the prince and Lisa and those few people knew only because they were to help conceal it. Fortunately or unfortunately, he couldn't figure out which yet, the prince had chose to include him in on the little secret. He assumed that meant the he would be working around the castle for a long time, since most of the people who knew where people that Greg were going to appoint to positions when he became king. He had known the man since they were boys and had been hand chosen by Greg himself after he had witnessed him pummel William's friend, who was bullying another kid. Greg was also amazed by the massive size of the boy who was the same age as he was and was certain he would make the best body guard, so began his training.

"If I am bothering you, next time I will redirect the letter to your father," Radley told him. This time Greg rolled his eyes as Radley as he walked away. He knew the man would never do such a thing. He was just one of the few priviledged people that had earned to right to speak to him as if he were not the heir to the throne. He closed the door and began to tare open the envelope. He pulled the letter out and began reading it.

'_Your Majesty,_

_I hope this letter finds you doing well. I also hope that my girls are not causing too much trouble for you. I write to ask of you a favor. When I released my daughter unto you it was with the promise that you would make sure she would have a place to live, food to eat, and clothes on her back for as long as she should require it. You agreed and I assume you will keep your word, for it seems that the time has already come that I would not be around to provide those things for her. It saddens me to say that I will not be around much longer to provide for her or any of my daughters. As this has taken me by surprise, I am now forced to make a decision on what to do with my two youngest daughters. My son cannot provide for them as he is struggling to take care of his own family. Cecily has not married yet, though I am sure that is to come in due time so she does not yet have a secure place of her own. This is why I am writing to you. I know that our arrangement was only for you to take care of Annalisa, but I am asking you to please provide a place for Alice and Emma until they marry. _

_I sent them to stay at the palace with Cecily because I did not want them around to witness my illness. I also did not want them to be exposed anymore to the phthisis as it is known to be contagious. But you need not worry about them having it. I sent the girls to live with Thomas and Sarah as soon as the cough appeared, as I started feeling ill. I thought it would only be for a few days as I got better, but then the blood appeared with the cough. This is when I sent a message to Thomas to send the girls to the palace and to Cecily to look after them for a few weeks while they visited. _

_I quickly began to lose my strength and the coughing increased, so I wrote this letter and stored and gave it to a trusted friend of mine. I asked her not to read it and to have her boy deliver it to the palace upon your return from Spain. When you read this, I do not know if I will still be alive as my disease seems to be progressing more quickly than normally. This may be a good thing for me, but a bad thing for my children. I beg of you, please watch after my girls. Thomas will still be around, and we thank you for the land you have given him, but he cannot do it by himself. I know despite your reputation, you are a kind man and a charitable ruler and England and her people are fortunate to have you as their ruler. I only wish that I were around to see her prosper under your rule. _

_Because of the generosity you have shown to my daughter, my family, and myself, I can rest easy knowing that my request will not go unacknowledged, even it if is not fulfilled. It is my pleasure to have known you and to have worked for your family._

_Sincerely, _

_Margery Cutteridge' _

Greg stared at the letter with a perplexed look on his face. Was the woman already dead? If so, when had she died? Had she died alone? Obviously none of the girls knew. Had Thomas known?

He was pulled from his thoughts by the stirring of the woman in the bed behind him. He watched as she seemed to settle back down and let out a peaceful sigh. He looked back down at the letter in his hands. She was not going to take this well, none of the girls would. He had to find out exactly what was going on. He opened the door and beckoned Radley over.

"Send the inspectors to Tunstead village, to the Cutteridge home. Tell them to take all precautions," Radley nodded and walked away, not wanting to ask questions after seeing the serious expression on his friend's face.

He heard the woman behind him stir again, as the silk sheets rippled across her bare skin. She let out a soft moan before speaking. "What's wrong?" she asked still not opening her eyes, not really thinking anything was wrong. But she figured something must have needed taking care of if he was out of bed. She had felt him get out of bed, but figured he would return sooner than he had.

"Nothing," he said as he walked back over to the bed. He got in and she immediately curled her body into his. He wrapped his arm around her, and kissed the top of her head as she fell back into a deep sleep. He was wide awake, wondering what news he would have to deliver to her, her sister, and her cousins once the inspectors returned.

* * *

A/N: We were laughing at Cuddy's name because I was about to use Cuddy, but then I was informed that it wasn't old English enough but we wanted something similar and came up with Cutteridge. Maybe we are just delirious from exhaustion right now, but it's hilarious right now for some reason. Anyways please **REVIEW**. I feel like this chapter is off for some reason. Maybe it's because I wrote the first half right after I posted the last chapter and I'm just finishing the second half. I hope it's continuous, so let me know. And don't forget I like **LONG REVIEWS**. They give me a better idea of what to do with stories for some reason. Anyways, hope you enjoyed.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Long story, it's late I'll explain later. If anyone's still reading, enjoy.

* * *

"…and then I flipped over the railing and fell into the stream. My mother was so angry," she laughed a little as she continued with her story. "She said she could explain Thomas being a little wet and ruffled up because he was a boy, but she could not explain why her daughter's dress was drenched and spotted with tiny rocks and dirt that had settled at the bottom of the stream."

He only gave a weak smile to match her wide grin. He usually would enjoy her stories, especially stories about how much of a little Tomboy she was. He would usually laugh and then try to get underneath her skin by telling her that women could not do things that men could do. But now he seemed preoccupied.

She turned and stepped in front of him, stopping their slow stroll through one of the courtyards. This made him stop, and actually pay more attention to her.

"What is the matter?" she asked in a soft tone with concern in her eyes.

He knitted his eyebrows, trying to think of something to say before giving an unsure laugh. "Wha…Nothing's wrong," he lied. "Why would you think something is wrong?"

"Because," she told him, "you are ignoring me. You have never ignored me before. Even if you were only paying attention so you pick up on something to annoy me with."

"Actually," he said, "the only time I ever really do pay attention to you is to pick up on something to annoy you with."

She smiled at him, a little bit more reassured by his revived demeanor. "Would you tell me if something were wrong?"

"Of course I wouldn't," he said as he stepped around her and continued walking.

She turned around and just stared at him for a moment, before taking a few quick steps to catch up with him. She figured it mustn't have been anything too serious since he began acting normal again, well somewhat anyway.

* * *

"Those rooms," Greg started talking to the tall, thin man standing next to him, "the ones on the bottom floor. Are any of them unoccupied?"

The question made James look up at him with a curious expression. Why was he asking about those rooms? He didn't even know his friend knew they existed. He had never had any use for them so he'd never bother to go down to them. They were used for what some would call the more prestige servants of the palace. They weren't actually on the bottom floor of the building. They were just on the first floor that was accessed when entering the palace from the front entrance. There were numerous other floors below those that housed the laborer's chambers and work place among other things that went on behind the scene to ensure the palace stayed functional.

"Yes, your majesty," Harold answered with a slight chuckle at the prince's lack of awareness. "Most of them are vacant." He finished as if it were common knowledge.

"Are they prepared for guests?" he continued.

"Not entirely," Harold told him, now wondering what the prince wanted with the rooms. "Eh, shall I have them prepared Your Majesty."

"Please do," he responded turning to look out of the window. "Three of them."

Harold shared a look with James before turning back to the prince.

"Very Well Sir," he nodded at James "Master Wilson." He then left the room to inform the servants to prepare three of the rooms on the first floor.

James walked over to the window to stand next to his friend. "Forgive me if I am prying, but," he turned to Greg, "what are you planning to do with three of the servant's rooms?"

Greg looked at him and was about to blab the secret that had been weighing him down the entire week, but thought better of it at the last second. He knew James would go and blab to Cecily. "Nothing," he said as he turned back to the window.

James furrowed his eyebrows. He knew his friend was about to reveal something, but decided against it at the last moment. "No," he contested, "it is something. You just will not tell. What is it?"

Greg looked at his friend before turning back to the window to think. He desperately wanted to tell Wilson but he did not want him telling the girls just yet. He knew eventually someone would have to tell them, but he would rather they not find out by James running off at the mouth.

"Greg?" James said bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Okay," he started. "But you have to promise not to tell Cecily the first chance you get. I am still trying to find the best way to let Lisa know."

James squinted his eyes, waiting for his friend to continue. He could tell whatever it was that his friend was about to tell him was something serious.

Before Greg continued though, someone entered through the door.

"Uhh, sorry to interrupt Your Majesty," a young man about their age started, "but I was told to report directly to you immediately with this news, at your request."

Greg stared at him and nodded. He was about to tell James anyway so he wanted the man to continue.

"The woman," he started, "she is still alive, but she is deathly ill. She does not have much time. Her home has been quarantined and local doctors have been called in to inspect everyone in the village for any signs of illness. She seems to have stayed confined and not allowed anyone over. We do not feel that an outbreak is imminent at this time," he finished.

Greg stared at him processing what he had said, before nodding at him and excusing him from the room.

"Who is he talking about?" James questioned, more confused now than he was before.

Greg paused, before answering, "Annalisa's mother?"

* * *

"I really do appreciate it," Emma started as she put away the last of her clothes in the small drawers in her new room, "but is there a reason as to why the prince is giving us this room?" She asked the older gentleman as he placed the heavy box down in the corner.

"Well you two are practically living here anyway," Cecily teased.

The girls had recently been informed that Emma, Alice, and Cecily would be moving up from the lower workers' chambers up to the first floor, where the more 'affluent' servants lived. Harold and Aurthur were helping them move the heavier things. It was a little late, Cecily and Lisa could only gather that this was because they wanted to keep the quiet that some of the servant girls were moving to the upper levels for no apparent reason. They did not mind though. Lisa felt better having her sisters closer to her and Cecily was just happy not to be cramped in her extremely small quarters with the two other girls. She would have sent them to stay in Lisa's room, but she did not think the prince would be amendable to that, seeing as how he was spending almost every night in her room since they reunited after his return from Spain.

Harold answered, "I wish I could answer your question young miss, but I am afraid that one can never put a reason to the prince's actions. He is very secretive, and…" the man paused as if searching for the right word, "egregious at best."

The other older gentleman in the room chuckled. "That is true," he agreed.

"If you should need anymore help moving your things, please, let us know," Harold told them as he and the other man left the room.

"Thank you," they all said in unison as they smiled at Harold as he closed the door.

Lisa liked Harold a lot and he had seemed to take a liking to them also. He was an older gentleman. Her father would have been around his age if he was alive. He was extremely nice to them and seemed to have taken up a fatherly roll over them all, including Amelia and Giselle. She wondered if he had a family of his own as she often saw him around the castle by himself or performing his duties.

"Besides," Giselle started in a playful tone, "I think we all know that Lisa probably had the biggest roll to play in getting you three these rooms."

She smiled at Cecily as Lisa stood up from helping Emma put her clothes away.

"I did not," she defended. "I only found out about it today when the rest of you were told. I never mentioned the subject."

"Oh, I didn't say you did," Giselle continued to tease. "But I'm pretty sure it was something you did that has the prince feeling so generous towards your sisters."

Lisa's mouth opened and closed again before her cheeks flushed a bright red.

"Am I missing something?" Emma asked a little confused as to what bush the older girls were obviously beating around.

"No," Cecily told her in a motherly tone. "Finish putting your things away so we can all get to bed."

She did as she was told. Cecily looked at Lisa's flushed face before turning back to straightening Emma's bed and giggled.

"And what are you laughing at?" Lisa asked, getting a little upset that her infatuation with the prince was once again the subject of the moment. She wasn't really upset that they were talking about their relationship. As a matter of fact, she would have been nothing shy of a giggling school girl had her infatuation with the prince been more acceptable. The fact that she had such strong feelings for him and they would not be permitted to be together as he would soon be marrying another woman, made the playful banter feel more like mean spirited teasing. "I could say the same for your relationship with James."

"No, you could not," Cecily said with a smile cutting her off.

The implication of her words were not lost on the older girls as they all giggled leaving Emma more than Alice to wonder what exactly they were talking about.

Lisa's lipped pressed together as tears came to her eyes. She stormed out of the room closing the door behind her.

"Lisa!" Cecily called after her, wondering where their friendly conversation had turned the corner into something else.

"Lisa," Emma called after her, wondering why her older sister had just stormed off in the middle of helping her. She got up to go behind her, but Cecily put a hand on her shoulder, telling her to continue her task. She then left the room to go talk to her cousin.

She looked to her right after stepping out of Emma's new bedroom. She then turned to her left where she saw the cream colored dress Lisa was wearing turning the corner.

"Lisa," she called out again, starting behind her in a fast pace. She called out to her once more, but she did not stop. She only sped up her pace, but Cecily continued to follow.

"Annalisa," Cecily tried one more time as the girl opened her bedroom door. She heard the door slam shut and the tumblers turn, letting her know that her cousin had locked herself away from her.

"Amazing," she heard a familiar voice say from behind her causing her to turn on her heels. "You sure are a stealthy bunch."

"Sorry," she said to the prince, who was now standing in his bedroom door. "Lisa, she's upset."

"I heard," he said as he made a face at her.

She sighed and looked back at her cousin's door, before turning back to him. "Well, goodnight. And thank you for making more room for us. Your kindness is greatly appreciated."

"You are quite welcome" he said. "I appreciate your return stealthiness. I am sure no one will be the wiser that you are living here."

She laughed softly. "We will try to be quieter," she reassured him before heading back to the lower floors to finish helping Emma put her things away. They had already finished Alice's room and would work on moving her things the following night.

He smiled to himself. He actually was kinda starting to like Cecily a little bit. She was obviously a very integral part of Annalisa's life, and he was happy that his best friend had finally found someone, he thought deserving of him.

His smile faded as he turned back to the door down the hall from his. He wanted to go and talk to her as she was obviously upset, but he feared he had no comforting words for her, especially as he had been keeping some very important information from her for a few weeks now. He closed his door and returned to his chambers, opting to let her feel this one out for herself.

* * *

James dismounted his horse and handed the reigns over to Alex. He took a deep breath and straightened his coat and started towards the front door. He honestly wished he was facing the woman for this, but she had made it clear in the letter that she had someone else pen her response to his letter that her son was now to make the decisions for her daughters, all but Lisa who's wellbeing she had seen too before her illness. He had a much better relationship with her, being that he had spoken to her more. But since she had passed away yesterday, he was forced to confront her son about this issue.

Another thing the woman had also made clear was that he was not to tell her son of her illness, as she wished to keep it a secret from him as long as possible. He was busy, with his new wife and expecting their new child any day now. Apparently she had sent him a letter, telling him that she was going to visit one of her cousins who had become ill. She told him that she knew he was busy starting his own household and that she had sequestered the help of some of the neighborhood boys to help look after the garden. He accepted this as there was not much in the garden to look after this time of year. He and his expecting wife had enough to eat from their garden, and the food growing from the garden now would not benefit his mother as she would have to start a new cycle of plants growing for her when she returned. The girls were gone and obviously taken care of and would not need or use the food grown. He had also discovered a skill for carpentry and had taken up a job helping to build houses and other structures for some of the higher class citizens. He figured his time was much better spent working carpentry and trying to save money for his family to afford things they could not grow in their garden.

Wilson knocked on the door and waited a few seconds. After no one answered, he knocked again. He heard some shuffling within the house and took another deep breath as he rocked nervously on his heels. A moment later he was meet by a very rounded Sarah. She was obviously surprised but smiled warmly at him.

"Mr. Wilson, what are you doing here?"

He smiled at her. Her comment was obviously more out of surprise than distaste for his unannounced visit.

"Hello, Sarah," he bowed slightly to her. "I am here to speak with your husband."

"Oh," she said as she placed her hand on her protruding stomach, still trying to figure out what the right hand man of the future king of England was doing at their door unannounced. "Well, please do come in."

She moved aside and let him enter. "He did not say anything about you coming."

"I am afraid that fault is all mine," he admitted. "This was a rather urgent visit and I regret that I was not able to inform him of my visit in a timely manner."

Her faced turned to one of panic in a split second. "Everything is okay at the palace isn't it?"

"Everything is fine," he told her with a reassuring smile, not wanting to allow the pregnant woman too much time to get worked up as already looked like she was about to pop. "I assure you ,this is more a matter of me not having the patience to wait for my request from him than of anything being awry at the palace."

"Oh," she said, seemingly reassured. "Well please, have a seat. I will go fetch him."

She disappeared into the back of the house. He looked around taking in the house that was obviously a little bigger than Margery's. He figured his friend's kindly donation had something to do with that.

"Mr. Wilson," Thomas said with the same surprise in his voice as Sarah had.

"Please, call me James," he replied as he stood to shake the man's hand and Sarah made her way into the kitchen readying the kettle to prepare tea for her husband and their guest.

"James," he nodded and corrected himself. "It is a pleasure to see you again, and forgive me if my curiosity makes me seem as a less hospitable host, but what are you doing here?"

"Well Thomas, I am glad you asked," he said as they both took a seat, "it is about your sister."

"They are not causing any trouble at the palace are they," he asked as the smile disappeared from his face. To his knowledge, his mother was out of town, and he knew that it was up to him to look after the girls secondarily since they were staying at the palace.

"No, no," James said with a chuckle. Clearly these girls were a handful even before the prince got his hands on them. "It is about Cecily, more specifically," he admitted. He noticed Sarah falter a little in her activities in the kitchen. He thought he noticed a smile come to her face before she returned to making the tea.

Maybe Greg was right. Women are evil beings well trained in the art of seduction and entrapment, and they hold secret meetings to plot against men, all of which men are painfully oblivious of.

"As you know," he started. "I have been courting her for some time now and," he stuttered. "I guess I will get straight to the point. I would like to ask you for her hand in marriage, if she will have me."

Thomas smiled and laughed a little, as Sarah rushed into the living room with the tray of tea and cookies with a huge smile on her face.

"Well," Thomas started still grinning, happy that Cecily would soon be getting married and his mother would no longer have to worry about her. He knew the girls' well-being was something that caused his mother a lot of worry and grief. "I think my mother is the one whose permission you should be asking."

"I assure you," James said holding up his hands, "I have spoken with your mother and she informed me that as far as her daughters are concerned in that matter, she has deferred that decision to you."

"Well of course," Thomas said after a long pause. "Of course." The two men stood and shook each other's hand as Sarah, not able to contain herself anymore, threw her arms around James and hugged him.

"Oh, congratulations," she told him clearly fighting back tears, her large stomaching being squished between them. She pulled back. "I said I would not cry."

She went into the back room and Thomas laughed again. "Don't mind her. That happens a lot as of lately."

The two men laughed again, both clearly very pleased with the way the evening had turned out.

James stayed a while and got to know Thomas a little better over tea and cookies. Sarah eventually joined them after she had had time to compose herself.

* * *

"I just do not understand why you have to have them there, that is all," Lisa said as she rolled out of Greg's arms, turning her back to him. He smiled to himself and reached a finger out to touch the top her neck. He then proceeded to run a finger down her bare spine, causing her to shiver as he got to her tailbone. His smile broadened. He found it cute when she was jealous of the time he spent with the other concubines. No doubt out of all of the girls, she got most of his time, but she got upset with him whenever he spent anytime with them.

He was going to be having a gathering the following evening. Nothing too big, just a bunch of his friends. Lisa must have heard from the other girls that the concubines would be in attendance.

"How do you expect me to have a gathering with no entertainment for my guests?" he asked rhetorically as he wrapped an arm around her bare waist and brought his lips to her shoulder. He felt her trying to shrug him off but he persisted in his endeavors. She turned her head to scold him but he used the opportunity to attach his lips to hers. She initially started fighting against him but as his fingers dipped between her thighs, she found herself kissing back and spreading her legs to allow room for him to settle his bare hips between them. She gasped loudly as she felt him push himself into her. He smiled down at her as he continued to thrust his hips into hers. He loved seeing her like this, dark eyes, flushed skin, writhing beneath him as moans of pleasure escaped her slightly parted lips. He knew she would be upset with him the following evening once the party got underway, but he clearly knew just what to do to fix that.

* * *

Greg sat on the plush pillows sipping from his glass of wine. The party had been a great success so far and they were now heading toward the end of the night. They had now moved into his entertaining chamber where the night's final entertainment would soon be arriving. Truth was, he knew that James was going to ask Cecily for her hand in marriage the following day, and he thought it would be a good idea to throw this little party before his friend committed to ruining his life. He never understood why men who were not forced to be married, often put themselves through the whole being captured and tortured process. He, on the other hand, had to marry as he had to produce a suitable offspring to reside over the country when he was no longer able to.

"Gentlemen," the older man said, alerting them to his presence as he opened the door. "Your entertainment for the night has arrived."

Following his words, the girls began filing through the door, some of them running jovially to the men the beckoned to them as they entered. Greg smiled as he watched Theresa and Elynor sit on each side of James. He watched his friend blush feverishly. Some of it, he was sure, was the alcohol, as he diverted one of the girl's hands that was already reaching for his groin area. He had made it known to the girls who was to be focused on at the party, but he knew his friend would turn them down being that he was going to propose to Cecily the following day. That was why he had decided to get him inebriated to the point where his inhibitions were lowered enough to take part in the celebratory events he had planned for him.

Greg raised the wine glass back to his mouth but almost spit the contents out as the last of the girls entered the room. There, third from the last was the one concubine he had not invited to the gathering. She looked around the room as if searching for something, and froze when her eyes met his. What was she doing there? She knew that she was not allowed to attend the gathering and he knew that she would not have wanted to unless she had an agenda of her own for being there. She watched as his jaw clenched and anger started to show in his eyes. She looked like she would turn and run out of the room, but instead, she turned her nose up in the air and stood straighter, before she began walking towards the pillows where the girls had now started to gather around the guests. He quickly sat his wine glass down and got up from his place among his guests.

She flinched as she felt his hand enclose around her upper arm. He pulled her to one of the corners of the room, his guests not noticing, already being intoxicated and the girls now distracting them.

"What are you doing here?" he spat at her between clenched teeth.

"Let go of my arm, you are hurting me," she told him trying to pry his fingers from her flesh. He let go of her but continued to stare at her menacingly.

"Leave now," he demanded.

"No," she told him defiantly. "You called for all of your concubines to entertain your guests. I am one of your concubines, am I not?"

"You know that you are not allowed to come to this party. And do not pretend that you are now so eager to perform the duties that have been given to you, when I literally had to pry your legs apart in order for you to do what you were brought here to do from the beginning."

"Well you wanted me to be a more obedient servant. I am just doing as you requested. Besides, you have a lot of guests here. How could one expect you to have a gathering with no entertainment for your guests?"

His rage grew more apparent in his eyes as he realized her true intentions for coming in with the concubines. She made it clear the night before that she did not want him partaking in any events that would involve any of the women, and since he had "disobeyed" her for lack of a better word, this was her way of getting back at him.

A look of satisfaction came over her as he seemed to grow even angrier. She side stepped him and prepared to walk back towards the men and women. He reached out to grab her arm preparing to drag her back to her room and lock her in it until he could deal with her more appropriately, but she moved quickly out of his grasp before he could get a good hold on her.

He watched as she looked around the room, her eyes settling on Ingham. The visually least masculine of the group of men and the seemingly most intoxicated of them also. She sat down very close to him and smiled enthusiastically as she struck up a conversation with him.

Greg turned to go back to his seat. He knew that if he made a scene, it would somehow get back to his father and the fathers of the men in the room, some of who were on parliament and other import committees. They would surely address their concerns with his father, making the backlash from the whole thing even worse. He turned back to the place he had been seated and Alex just looked at him and shrugged his shoulders before Jane put her hand on his chin, turning his face back towards her and fusing her lips to his. He sat back down next to Alex and downed the remaining contents of his glass in one gulp.

"You," he barked, pointing at Mary. She smiled at him before quickly getting up from her place next to the man across the room from him, another girl quickly filling her spot. She made her way across the room and sat on his lap, immediately bringing her lips to his. He began groping her and glanced over at Lisa, seeing the smug smile had left her face. She rolled her eyes at him and turned back to the man she had been talking to, but another not so drunk man sat down behind her and pulled her into his lap.

"I do not think he is going to be much fun tonight," he smiled at her as his hand began to rub her thigh. He was a very handsome young man, about Greg's age. He was very muscular, had blond hair and green eyes, and a smile that would make any girl swoon straight into his arms, if they were not using him to make another man in the room jealous. She wanted to push herself away from him and run out of the room, but she would not give up on this fight so easily. She forced a smile to her face and sparked up a conversation with him. Greg mentally made note to himself to keep an eye on her. To hell with anyone finding out. He would make up some infringement to accuse her off to personally escort her back to her chambers until he could deal with her later.

* * *

"Come on darling," the man cooed into her ear as he kissed the exposed skin of her neck. "Relax a bit. I promise I can give you a good time." She smiled uncomfortably as she pushed his hand away from trying to dip between her thighs. He had continued drinking throughout the past couple of hours and had become more aggressive in his groping. The room had gotten a little more quieter, well filled with different sounds now. Most of the girls where now partially if not fully undressed. And though she was not really looking at the area behind her, she could tell from the sounds coming from there that the party had progressed far beyond the usual groping and kissing. She looked over to where Greg was and saw him readjusting Mary on his lap so that she was now straddling him. The top of her dress was undone and her breasts were fully exposed to him. She saw the woman reach down and between them, the material from the bottom of her dress hiding exactly what she was doing. He adjusted himself before settling again. She then lifted her hips and lowered them again, drawing moans from both of them.

Tears sprang to her eyes as she realized what she was witnessing. She forced another tearful smile to her face. "Get out of here?" she said as she looked down into the green eyes of the man sitting beneath her. He smiled up at her with heavy lids.

"Right, I forgot you are new." He got up slowly staggering, pulling her to a standing position with him. She grabbed the man's hand and began to lead him out of the room, purposefully passing directly in front of Greg as Mary continued to grind her hips against his.

"Sorry," she spat hatefully, as she kicked him hard on the leg.

She rolled her eyes at him as he stretched his eyes, trying to make out who the person was standing in front of him. He did not make out what was happening until she and the man had almost made it to the door.

She opened the door and was about to step out pulling the man behind her. She figured, or at least hoped he would pass out within the next few minutes. If not she would find a reason to leave, and spend the night in Cecily's room. Before she could come up with a detailed plan, she felt someone grab her arm again.

"Excuse us Fin," she heard him say as she turned back to none other than Greg. He forced a smile at the man whose name she had learned to be Phineas.

"Stingy with your girls now are you? I guess the fear of getting married soon is causing you to cling to every last drop of your bachelorhood."

Greg forced another smile at the man before turning to Lisa, revealing the scowl he had been hiding as he led her out of the room. She took a deep breath as he closed the chamber doors behind them. Cecily's room, she thought. She managed to get away from him before he could say a word.

"Where are you going?" she heard him say as he began following her down the hall. The strain in his voice made it clear he was trying not to yell.

"I do not wish to speak with you right now," she retorted not turning around to face him. His legs were longer and though she had gotten a head start, she knew he would eventually catch up with her.

"You purposefully disobey me," he started his rant still following her as she tried desperately to stay ahead of him, but she could tell he was gaining on her. Either that are he was losing the control he had on his voice and was starting the yell. She had almost made it to Cecily's room when she felt her arm be pulled brutally from her side. Before she could protest she felt her back slam against the wall, causing her to let out a small cry of pain. He was immediately in her face.

"If you ever, ever, disobey me in that manner again, you will be regretful that you did. How dare you…," she could no longer hear him as he continued to half yell, half whisper in her face. The grip he had on her arm was becoming tighter and the pain in her arm was starting to drown out his words. She opened her mouth to protest but a pain shot up her arm causing her to groan.

"You are hurting me," she was finally able to get out after regaining her voice.

"I do not care," he bellowed, causing the tears that had been welling in her eyes to begin falling down her face.

His voice must have alerted some people of a disturbance in the hall as James and Alex, who had to have been following them after seeing them leave, came around the corner in a slow run.

"What happened?" James asked as he came closer to them.

Lisa only continued to cry silently as she held onto prince's wrist hoping to persuade him to let go of her arm. "Let go of me," she begged.

"Greg," James said touching his friend's shoulder lightly. It was only then that he realized what he was doing. He let go of her arm and her hand quickly replaced his, lightly shielding and nursing the hurting limb.

"What is going on out here?" Cecily asked after opening the door and seeing the four familiar faces standing outside. She had been awaken from her sleep, as far as she could tell, during the very early hours of the morning, only find the prince of England outside her door yelling while her cousin wept silently crouched down on the floor. James looked at her almost apologetically but still seemingly almost as confused as her. She kneeled next to her cousin, asking her what was wrong. She only pulled up the sleeve of her dress showing the huge bruise that was starting to form on her upper arm. She was sure there was a bruise forming on her lower back from where she had slammed into the wall as she was now also starting to feel that pain.

Cecily gasped. "What happened?"

Lisa looked up at Greg who was still glaring at her. He felt a twinge of regret start to seep into his heart but quickly pushed it aside. He would not let her get away that easily with the little trick she had pulled. He was livid.

"Uhm," Alex started before turning to Cecily, "may we step inside your room?"

She and James looked around. Apparently their little dramatic act had become center stage at the late night theater as some of the residents of the floor had now opened their door and was staring bewilderedly at them.

"Come on, sweetie," Cecily said helping Lisa from the floor and leading her into her room. She sat her down on her bed as she continued to weep and the men followed her inside, Alex closing the door behind them. He knew they would have some questions to answer the following day as news of their little scene was sure to get back to someone.

"What happened to her arm?" Cecily asked after not receiving an answer from Lisa the first time. She turned to James who looked down at the floor, before looking sideways at his friend waiting for him to speak up. That was enough of a clue for Cecily.

"You did this to her?" she turned to him in astonishment, rising from the bed, ready to defend her cousin. Had it been under different circumstances she probably would not have stood up the prince in such a manner. Being that she was exhausted, and slightly peeved with all of them for waking her she really was not think straight. The huge bruise forming on Lisa's arm was not serving to better her state of mind.

"What is wrong with you? Why would you do that to her?" she yelled at him, after not receiving an answer.

"It is not I with the problem. You should ask your cousin why tonight of all nights, she decided to fully honor her duties as a whore." He said calmly with malice in his voice.

This caused Lisa to look up at him with wide eyes. "I was not going to do anything with him," she defended. Her voice cracking as the situation was developing to be too much for her. She was starting to wish that she had stayed in her room tonight like she knew she should have.

"Lisa what is he talking about?" Cecily's question went unanswered.

"Really what would have stopped you?" he began yelling again.

"I would have," she yelled back.

"Please, spare me. You cannot defend yourself against William. You think you would have faired better against a drunken stranger?" he spat at her.

"If you would not have been so engrossed in whoring yourself out, you would not have had to worry about if I am able to defend myself against anyone," she retorted as the people in the room watched on, praying that the walls of the room were thick enough to keep their yelling from the ears of the other residents. Emma and Alice's rooms were on either side of hers, so she figured that they had not come into her room seeking out the source of the disturbance was a good sign.

"I am the prince, soon to be King of England," he said through clenched teeth as he stepped closer to her. Cecily quickly placed herself between them. Clearly she needed to get the whole story before making a judgement about what was going on, but either way she did not approve of anyone putting the badly discolored bruise on Lisa's arm. "I am to answer to you, nor anyone else. You are to obey me, not the other way around. My future bride is currently in Spain, she is the only one that will have the right to criticize whom I chose to allow to entertain me, and she does not have any real say so."

He was about to continue, but she cut him off, "Then why do you care so much about what I do then," she said taking a step closer to him, now getting in his face.

He just stared at her for a few seconds before replying, "I don't."

Her brows furrowed and for a moment Cecily thought she was going to start crying again. Instead she pushed past him and out of the room. Cecily decided to go behind her as she would then be able to get the full story, before watching her cousin cry herself to sleep. Greg followed closely behind her, making sure that she would not go back to the party. He watched as she and Cecily entered her room, before sending for Radley. He informed the man that Annalisa was not to leave her room without him being notified first about her desired destination

* * *

A/N: Please review. I will make corrections later. I'm tired and just wanted to get this posted for tonight.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: I am trying to continue updating, it may not be a regularly but I figure something is better than nothing. I will edit this chapter when I get a chance. **

* * *

Cecily walked through the castle towards one of the great rooms James had asked her to meet him. She figured he wanted to discuss the events of the prior night. She had spent the night in Lisa's room. She had told her all that had happened; the party, the girls, Mary, the other men, Phineas, whoever that was, and the events that culminated with them yelling outside of her bedroom. Though, she was just as confused as she was before she knew any of this. It was clear something was going on between the two of them, and even though she knew this, their combined stubbornness was beginning to make her head spin. She was starting to think it would be better for the prince to just allow Lisa to leave and they just forget each other existed.

She opened the door and saw James sitting on the couch, looking as if he was in deep thought. He had his elbows on his knees, staring at the ground and did not hear her come in.

"Well hopefully you have more information about what went on between the two of them," she started, causing him to stand quickly to his feet as he turned to face her. "From what she is telling me, the two of them are just plan mad."

"No," James told her. "I actually wanted to talk about you and I."

Cecily did not hear him as she was working herself up into frenzy over her cousin and his best friend.

"Two of the most stubborn people I have ever known, they are," she continued, making it difficult for him to get a word in. He just stood silently trying to build up his courage to say something. He thought she would talk herself out, giving him an opening to say something, but she kept ranting on about the subject. Finally, he just decided to go for it.

"Cecily," he said loudly, causing her to stop and look at him. He opened his mouth to say something but figured he might as well just say it before he lost his nerves again.

He grabbed her hand and got down to one knee.

She squinted her eyes and looked at him questioningly.

"Will you be my bride?" he choked out, searching her eyes for the first sign or rejection.

She just stared at the ring he had pulled from his coat pocket, trying to take in what he was saying.

"What?" she asked with surprise in her voice, trying to make sure she heard him correctly.

He looked down, seemingly unsure of himself before he looked up at her again. "Will you be my bride?" he asked again. "Marry me?"

She looked back at the ring before bringing her eyes to his. She had heard him correctly, but she still didn't believe it was happening. Had he gone through the proper channels?

"Aunt Margery," she began, but he corrected her.

"Thomas," he corrected, letting her know that her aunt had deferred the conversation, more out of necessity than anything. It still pained him that he was holding this secret from her about her aunt.

"What did he say?" she asked him.

"He gave me his blessings," James replied. "The only answer I am waiting for is yours."

She searched his eyes once more, trying to make out if he was sure of what he was asking of her. She felt herself choking up and tears forming in her eyes. She thought it better to speak before she became unable to. "Yes," she choked out, bringing a questioning smile to his face.

"Yes," she repeated louder, causing his smile to broaden. He stood quickly and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her from her feet.

She could not believe what had just happened. She thought to herself all the people she had to tell, and her mind quickly wandered to her cousin. The thought almost dampened her happiness, but she quickly pushed the thought aside. She could focusing on telling her family and friends later, right now she just wanted to share this moment with her new soon to be husband.

* * *

"Did no one tell you she was coming?" James asked his best friend as they walked down the hall. The entire palace was up and about, preparing for the visit of the duchess of Spain.

"I don't know," was his reply. "I may have forgotten."

"Forgotten?" James asked incredulously. "How could you forget that your soon to be wife is visiting you."

He just rolled his eyes, but did not answer right away. He knew there was a ball coming up within the next week and he vaguely remembered his mother saying something about it and Spain, but it would make since that she would be coming to visit seeing as how he had already been forced to pay his visit to her country. He felt he would have been excited to see her, had he not been preoccupied with another member of the evil gender.

"Don't go judging the rest of us because you are allowed to be tied to the hip of your house mum," Greg told him causing him to roll his eyes. "Besides," he started, "I've had a lot going on this past week. You remember that party I threw for you that you were too moronic to take part in, do you?"

James rolled his eyes again. "Of course I do, but that didn't seem like it caused you too much trouble. The events that took place at that party, however, especially with one particular person seemed to have had you preoccupied throughout the week."

It was Greg's turn to roll his eyes. "If you do not mind," he told him as he stepped into his bedroom, "I have to get ready for the duchess's visit later today. You do have things to do, don't you, people to lust after." With that, Greg closed the bedroom door in his face. He would spend the next few hours, trying to prepare his mindset for the visit and that party his parents had decided to give in honor of it.

* * *

"What is all the fuss about?" Emma asked as the girls walked around the front grounds of the palace. They were just returning from a walk through the market, they had ultimately decided not to buy anything. Lisa just wanted to get away from the palace after the events of the prior night. Every time she looked at the bruise on her arm tears sprang to her eyes. She was angry with him and she wanted to avoid him. Since he claimed he did not care about what she was doing, she would at least make him wonder.

"I don't know," replied Alice. "I haven't heard anything going on around the palace."

They walked up to the crowd to see if they could get a glance at whatever was happening. But the crowd would not part from the huge crowd they had formed behind the barrier of the walkway to the front entrance of the palace. They stood on their toes trying to see better, but all they could see was a lot of fancy carriages and fancy clothes on people who's faces they did not recognize.

"It's probably just some guests arriving for the ball," Amelia offered.

"Huh," Cecily replied, remembering hearing something about a ball coming up.

"Excuse me," they heard Alice say with an attitude as she pushed her way through the crowd, wanting to get a better look at the extravagant people that she was sure was walking the pathway to the palace.

"I don't know why everyone is getting so worked up about regular people in expensive clothing," Emma said, her patience growing short with the fanfair going on. She was never too big on the buffoonery that came with the rich. She never had much in her life and she was perfectly happy. That was what she valued in life, happiness. And that wasn't to be bought with money. It came with the people you had in your life.

"This isn't just regular people", a woman a little older than them turned to tell them. "The Duchess of Spain is arriving today, the future Queen of England."

A smile sprang to Emma's face. She didn't see why so much fuss was made over 'regular' people, but the royal family was a different story. She always held a special admiration for the royal family. She thought that they were really kind people. She always remembered the time when she was younger and the royal family was doing one of their greetings of the country. Her father had found them a spot in the front of the crowd, similar to the one they were standing behind now. The crowd in back was still pushing and her father was trying his best to shield her from it, but one particular nasty push from the back of the crowd caused the little doll she was clutching to her chest to fly over the barrier rail and into the street. She bent down and tried to stick her little arm through the rail to reach her doll as her father and a few other men in the front argued with some people in the back of the crowd. She couldn't reach it, try as she might, and did not notice the little girl about her age running over from the other side of the barrier to where she was. She saw someone bend over and pick up the doll, she stood quickly to meet the face of a smiling little girl, her height.

"She's very pretty," the little girl said looking at the doll. "What's her name?"

"Charlotte," Emma replied, smiling back at the little girl.

The little girl pulled back her coat a little, revealing a little rag doll in her inside pocket. "Her name is Lucy," she said.

"Here you go," she said handing the doll back to Emma.

"Thank you," she replied.

"My name is Abigail."

"Emma," she replied, offering her name.

Before their exchange could go any further, an older woman, which Emma later learned to be the Queen of England hurried over to the girl and grabbed her hand.

"Come now Abigail, sweetheart. It's getting colder out. We must be getting back to the palace now." She began pulling the little girl back towards the center of the square. Abigail waved and so did Emma, as the woman smiled sweetly back at her.

"Lisa," she heard Cecily yell, breaking her train of thought. "Where are you going?" She did not reply. "Lisa!"

It was too late, Lisa was already pushing her way through to the front of the crowd. Cecily began pushing her way through behind her.

"Well wait for me," Emma said as she and Amelia began following them through the crowd.

Lisa elbowed and pushed her way through the crowd until she was standing next to Alice at the front of the crowd. Just in time, as the crowd behind her began going crazy and the man on the bugle announced, "Duchess Anastacia Aragon, of Spain."

Annalisa's mouth hung open unknowingly to her. She followed the woman as she smiled and waved, making her way to the front entrance of the palace. She was beautiful, graceful. She had on a very elaboratly sewn dress made of gold material with beautiful embroidered golden beads that made the dress look as if it were made from twenty four karrot gold. Her long brown curls were pinned up and held in place by golden combs and pins adorned with flowers and more golden beads that made it look like someone had taken one of the golden bars used to make her dress, shaved it down and sprinkled the golden flakes into her hair. She was the epitome of a young princess, preparing to take her place on the throne as Queen.

She made her way up the first set of stairs to the palace, where Lisa noticed for the first time, the royal family waiting for her. She greeted the King and Queen before moving in front of the prince. Lisa noticed her face brightened and her smile widened as she extended her hand to him. He bowed at the waist and placed a gentle kiss on her hand. She noticed the smile on his face, the genuine smile on his face and felt the jealous butterflies in her stomach began to flutter even more as the dimples in his cheeks remained with his smile as the duchess placed her arm in his and they turned to waive to the people of their country before making their way inside the palace. The crowd continued to roar after having seen their current and future king and queen of their beloved country.

She continued to stare at the open doors of the palace as all the other guests began to file in behind them. "Lisa," she heard a careful voice say, calling her attention away from the door. "Are you okay?"

She just looked at Cecily first before folding her arms defensively across her stomach and turning her nose up in the air. "I'm fine." She then began to push her way through the crowd and towards the side entrance of the palace, the other girls following close behind her.

* * *

"So will you be attending the ball, Sis?" Emma asked Cecily tauntingly.

"I presume she will be going with one James Wilson," Alice offered.

Cecily ignored them as she continued to try to get Lisa to talk. She hadn't said much since they returned to the room that evening. Amelia had left a while ago to go get them all something to eat. It had become their custom, when someone was down and out and didn't want to be around people. The would have their own little meal in one of their rooms or any place they found they could be alone.

Cecily wished she could tell them about her recent engagement, but now she would feel even worse bringing it up in front of Lisa with the events that had occurred with the prince and the duchess. She just sat there listening to Emma and Alice go on as she toyed with the sapphire jewel around her neck. She remembered when he had first given it to her. It was the morning of the first night they had spent together after he returned from Spain. She had woken up in his arms, thinking she was dreaming at first after having him gone for three months and not seeing much of him a week after he returned. She shifted some and felt him stir in return, placing soft, wet kisses on the back of her neck. She turned over in his arms, allowing the next kiss to land on her lips. He placed a long lingering kiss on her lips, before asking her to close her eyes. She felt him place something around her neck before he told her to open her eyes. She did, and gasped when she saw the blue jewel around her neck. Tears instantly came to her eyes. She still missed the emerald, but now, after everything theat had happened, this one meant more to her.

"I have your favorites," Amelia said as she and Giselle walked back through the door with the food they had gotten from the kitchen.

"It seems we got down there right in time. The kitchen is going insane. It seems they are preparing even more food at the arrival of the guests. They've cooked just about every recipe they have," Giselle told them.

"Here miss," Amelia said cheerfully, knowing that Annalisa was feeling a little down in the dumps. "We have tomato and eggs, carrot and parsnip puffs, and even sugar cakes. All some of your favorites."

Cecily watched as Lisa turned her nose up at the food that was being placed in front of her. She frowned as she began getting up from her place on the bed.

"No thank you," she said as she stood up, and stumbled a little before regaining her balance. "I'm not hungry."

She then left the room without another word. Leaving all of the girls looking at the closed door.

"Not hungry?" Amelia questioned. "She hasn't eaten all day."

"She's just upset," Alice chimed in, sullenly. "I don't blame her."

Emma laughed. "Give it up already Alice," she started. "You are never going to marry the prince, duchess or no duchess."

Alice only made a face at her, which made Cecily think that her little sister was finally starting to accept reality. She would have commented on it had she not been concerned about her cousin wandering the palace halls.

* * *

Lisa closed the door to the washroom behind her. She had gone to splash some water on her face. She felt a little funny upon standing to leave the room after Amelia and Giselle had returned with that rancid food. She decided to walk through the breezeway in order to get a little fresh air. It was a beautiful night and there were still some people out wandering about the dimly lit courtyard.

She had been out for about fifteen minutes before she decided to return to her room where everyone else was. She was hoping that they had eaten all of the food. She was making her way back to the palace until a group of women crossed her path, one of them she recognized immediately as the lady in the golden dress from earlier. They stopped in the hallway in front of her and continued their chatter and giggling.

She took the time to evaluate the woman more closely since she had a closer view. They continued for a minute or two before the duchess noticed her.

Anastacia smiled kindly at her. Now being used to everyone she came across in the palace gawking at her as if she was some rare porcelain doll. She liked it a little, and was happy that the people she were to one day help rule over were as excited to have her in their country as she was to be there. It wasn't until her eyes fell to the large jewel around the girl's neck that the smile disappeared from her face. She had seen the jewel before. She had been with the prince when he had purchased it. She looked back into the other woman's eyes, and saw that the color of her eyes matched the jewel almost perfectly. She remembered how he had gone on about how he loved the jewel and how the clarity and the cut of the diamond had made the color one of the most beautiful he had ever seen. She then took in the rest of the woman's features. Her long brown locks matched hers almost perfectly in color. She was beautiful.

Lisa's hand subconsciously went to the jewel around her neck as that was the spot where the woman was staring only seconds earlier. Also this had become one of her self soothing habits when she found herself unsure of something or in an uncomfortable situation.

"Let's go," one of the other girls said, nudging the duchess, causing her to break her stare off with Annalisa. "Your king is waiting for you."

This caused an unsure smile to return to Anastacia's face as the rest of the girls giggled and they all continued down the hallway. Anastacia threw one last curious glance at Lisa before disappearing around the corner. Lisa felt a little flustered, and definitely upset by the events that had just transpired. She quickened her pace and made her way back to her room. She saw that the girls had finished most of the food but had left some for her. She however decided to stay away from it, still feeling repulsed by it, and made her way over to her little sister. She saw a small bowl sitting near the girl as she ate some of the sugar cakes.

"Are you going to eat that?" Lisa asked her pointing to the soup.

Emma shook her head before handing the bowel to her sister. Lisa sat in the chair next to Giselle and began devouring the soup. Cecily just stared at her. Annalisa hated barley soup.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter is shorter than the last, but I made the last one longer because I hadn't updated in a while. I will try to keep all the chapters at least this length or longer. Don't forget to review and let me know you guys are still reading, but more importantly what you think of the new chapters. Why am I still awake, just another sign that I have lost complete control of my life. **


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: Okay, here goes another chapter. Again, I apologize for any grammatical or spelling errors. I will try to fix as many of them as I can later. Enjoy :) !**

* * *

"Is there anything else that I should see on this visit?"Anastacia asked as she and her soon to be husband walked down one of the corridors of the palace, arm in arm.

They had just finished having dinner with his parents and a few of their other guests. The dinner table conversation had quickly turned to the impending nuptials, and he, planning to have nothing more to do with the event than showing up and repeating the vows that would be recited to him, had taken the opportunity to excuse himself for a post dinner stroll around the palace. He had taken her with him, knowing it would impede any rejection about his departure. He didn't mind being around her, she wasn't nearly as obnoxious as the other people at the dinner table fawning over them.

"Anything you do not see this time," he started, "you would be sure to see on your next visit."

She smiled. Her next visit would not be a visit, but a permanent move. She would be coming to take her place as his bride, and Queen of his country.

"The ball should be nice tomorrow," she told him. "I saw the ballroom. They've started to hang the decorations. It is already beautiful."

"You should see the sketches of the wedding they have made," he told her with a smile, drawing a quaint laugh from her.

She knew that he was dreading the wedding. She had not spent much time with him, but she could already tell that he was not fond of people lavishing him with unwanted attention. He would much rather be left to his own devices, reeking havoc on unsuspecting victims. Though if you were a victim, that meant he wanted your attention. He was a very unique man, a feet hard to accomplish after being bread your entire life to be just as all of the other wealthy, powerful men of your country, only better.

"Your crowning," she began, "is it to take place before or after the wedding?"

"My father is to relinquish the throne to me in private, prior to the wedding ceremony," he began explaining. "That way, I will have time to get all of my people in place, and remove his squad of buffoons away from my parliament and anywhere else they can ruin things. Then, we will have the wedding ceremony, then our public crowning."

She smiled and blushed at "our crowning". She was thrilled that he had accepted her as his queen. From what she had heard, he did not often let people tell him what to do and there was hell to pay when he was forced to do something he did not agree with.

"So you get to replace everyone?" she questioned.

"Yes, thankfully everyone who served under my father is ancient. So, I get to start with a fresh batch, from parliament to the jester. "

She nodded. Happy for them. She knew that countries were run better when the people helping to run it were faithful to their leader, and their current leader only. When sons took over from their fathers and members from their father's rule were left in their positions, they would often run into roadblocks stemming from the premises, 'well that is not what your father would do'.

A slew of giggles woke her from her captivation with the man walking next to her. She saw a few servant girls walking down the hallway ahead of them. She had seen one of them before. Seeing the girl with the jewel again and the sudden rigidness of the man standing next to her tipped her off that her earlier suspicions were warranted. The girl spotted them and went pale. She continued to stare at them as her strides slowed to a crawl before completely stopping. She studied the girl for only a second before looking up to see that the man standing next to her was staring right at the unnamed servant girl. It did not help to put her at ease when a slightly taller blonde girl walked up next to the dark haired servant girl and looked their way before the smile disappeared from her face. She whispered something into the dark haired girls ear before pulling her off in the direction in which the other girls had disappeared.

Her and the prince still stood glued to their spot. She was trying to make since out of all that had just happened in the past few seconds, because a lot definitely had happened. But she had been bread well. She cleared her throat, causing the man to come out of his daze and look down at her. She kept her eyes to the ground, and they continued to walk again. Yes she had been bread well, by her mother, her aunt, a queen herself, and plenty of other women who were married to very powerful men in very powerful positions.

"Who is she?" she asked, finally breaking the silence of the last couple of minutes. She had been bread to grin and bare whatever her powerful husband dished out, but to always know, even better than he, what she was grinning at and baring.

"No one," he answered, telling her all she needed to know. No one was always the person you had to worry about the most.

A few minute of silence later, she announced that she was ready to retire to her chambers. He politely walked her to her bedroom. He kissed her hand before bidding her goodnight and heading towards his quarters.

He had made it all the way to his bedroom door and had his hand on the latch to enter, but he could not help this gnawing feeling he had in the pit of his stomach. He needed to see her.

He nodded at Radley as he knocked once before entering her room.

"The young miss has left for her brother's village," Radley boomed from behind him.

He turned with a puzzled look, drawing a similar look from Radley himself.

"You did not know?" the large man questioned.

"Of course I did not know," Greg told him.

"They told me you knew. Their brother's wife is giving birth and they all went to be with them," Radley explained.

"And what did I tell you?"Greg half yelled, not really mad, since the man at least knew her whereabouts. "The only time she is supposed to leave this palace is if you have received word from my mouth directly. Do you understand that?" Greg asked rhetorically. "Gather the horses, you are coming with me. You big oaf."

"At least I am not about to take off in the middle of the night pursuing a woman I cannot have while the woman I am to marry sleeps a few halls away," Radley retorted.

"Shut it," was Greg's only reply as he entered his room to prepare some things to bring to the village with him.

* * *

"She is fine Thomas," Cecily reassured him as she blocked him from entering the bedroom where the midwife was currently with his wife as she gave birth. Another one of Sarah's screams echoed off of the walls, causing everyone who had not yet gone in the room to cringe.

"She does not sound like she is fine," Alice responded, causing Cecily to give her a look.

She had a hard enough time trying to reassure Thomas without them causing more fear. "She is fine," Cecily said turning back to Thomas. "Now I am going to go back in here and if anything changes," she was interrupted by a knock on the door before she could finish.

Emma went to open it and revealed four men on the other side of the door.

"Ello darlings," Greg started. "Not going to invite us to the party, were you?"

Emma turned to look at Cecily with a frightened look, knowing that they had helped Annalisa leave the castle without his permission. Amelia, Alice, and Giselle also looked afraid, while Thomas looked confused. What were they doing at his door? He had no time for guests when his wife was obviously being tortured on the other side of the bedroom door. Cecily, however, just rolled her eyes at her fiance and his friends before retreating back into the bedroom. A few seconds later the door opened again and Cecily pushed a confused Annalisa out into the atrium.

The confused look was replaced by anger when she noticed Greg with his, 'you can't outsmart me' smile on his face. She did not speak to him as she went down the hall into the second bedroom.

The smile disappeared from his face also and the rest of the room remained quiet as he marched down the hall behind her slamming the door for the second time.

Thomas still confused, just pointed in their direction as he turned to the three men that had arrived with the royal son. James was the first to speak.

"Nevermind them," he started. "Congratulations, I hear you are about to become a father."

This allowed Thomas's mind to return fully to what he was truly concerned about. "Yes, I," but before he could finish another blood curdling scream came from the other side of the door causing the men to look at the door as if a three headed dragon was about to emerge from the other side.

"Well then," Amelia started brightly, "shall I make tea?" She did not wait for anyone to respond before retreating into the kitchen.

* * *

"What are you doing here?" she spat at him as he entered the room.

"That's funny, I should ask you the same thing. Seeing as you knew you were not supposed to leave without my permission since you lied to Radley before you did so."

"What do you care?" she returned taking a step closer to him. "You said yourself, you do not care about what I do."

He had no reply. He had implied that with the words that came out of his mouth. Knowing she had won this argument, she turned and went to the window.

"If you do not mind, I would like for you to leave," she told him. "This is a family gathering and I do not wish for you to be here."

He had opened his mouth to begin yelling again, but the door opened before he could get a word out.

"Annalisa, come quickly," Emma said urgently. "Your help is needed with Sarah and the baby."

She immediately began walking to the door, throwing a cold and firm "leave" over her shoulder as she brushed by him.

If she thought he was leaving here without her, she had another thought coming.

* * *

"I don't understand what is taking so long in there," Thomas said.

"Calm down Thomas," Alice told him as she watched him pace. "She said it would be any minute now."

"That was an hour ago," he told her.

"Just please, have a seat," James told him. "You are making me dizzy walking around in circles like that."

Thomas sighed, but complied. He sat on the edge of the seat of the chair that sat next to the sofa, ready to spring to his feet if need be. They all sat quietly, each of them deep in their thoughts. It was only a few minutes later when they heard a high pitched squeal ring through the air, calling them all from their thoughts. Thomas rose to his feet, and began towards the door. He would finally be allowed into the room where they had been holding his wife and unborn child hostage.

"Don't," Giselle said stepping in front of him. "Cecily said they would come for you when they were ready."

"But it is over," he argued, "the baby is here."

She gave him a look that told him she was not going to allow him to enter the room until she received the signal from the other side of the door. She had been put in charge of keeping the peace in the "waiting room" after Cecily had gotten tired of having to come out of the room every five minutes due to Thomas's cycles of insanity.

He sighed before sitting back on the couch. He knew that it had been taxing on the girls to have to deal with him while trying to help his wife deliver his child, but he could not help it. It had been hours since he had seen her, and the cries coming from the other side of the door signaled that there was now a new little life that had been brought into the world that he was now responsible for.

"I wonder what it is?" Emma said excitedly.

They did not have to wait long. A few seconds later, Cecily opened the door and beckoned for Thomas to come in. She again closed the door behind him. About ten minutes later the door opened again, and out stepped Annalisa with a bundle of blankets. The girls immediately stood and made their way over to her.

"What is it?" Amelia asked.

"A girl," she told them. "Her name is Grace."

"How is Sarah," asked Giselle, still smiling down at the baby.

"Fine," she told them. "She is just resting now."

He watched as all of the girls continued to coo over the baby. He would never figure out how those little things could just melt the intelligence of women away. When a baby was around, it was as if all logical priorities shifted to illogical mindlessness. Lisa for example was furious with him, but did not even notice him sitting across the room on the sofa. She went back into the room with some protest from the girls and a smile still on her face.

The rest of the night, he knew, would be used to make sure that Sarah and Grace remained in good health. He decided to retire to the bedroom he and Lisa had argued in earlier that night, knowing that she would be retiring to that room after she had finished her honorary midwife duties.

A couple of hours later, she joined him in the room. The smile disappeared from her face as she entered the room. She looked away from him, but did not say anything as she closed the door. He rose from the bed as she began to undress. She was too tired to go through it again with him tonight. She just wanted to get in bed as soon as possible, as she feared she would not be able to stand much longer without passing out.

"I told you to leave," she said digging through the drawers that she had put her things in when they first arrived.

He did not respond. He drank in the sight. He had not seen much of her or been alone with her since their argument the night of the party. His eyes fell to the yellowing area of skin on her left arm. It encircled her upper arm, and was clearly in the shape of a hand. He frowned to himself, still regretful that he had been so rough with her.

She stopped digging through the drawers, but remained with her back to him when she felt his fingers softly brush the area where the healing bruise was. She took in a sharp breath as his fingers ghosted across her skin, and tears sprang to her eyes at his gentleness. He saw her shoulders fall in defeat. He placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her around to face him. She remained with her head lowered, so he placed a finger on her chin, lifting her head so she would look at him. She closed her eyes tightly letting a tear slip down her cheek before opening her eyes to look into his.

He brought his lips down to hers and placed a soft kiss there. "I am sorry," he told her, stroking her cheek with his thumb. He gave her another kiss, a little more firm than the first. She felt his tongue slide across her lips and she parted them, allowing him access. The kiss became more heated and before she knew it she was being lifted off of her feet and being laid down on the bed with him on top of her.

His lips moved from hers, to her neck. "I am so sorry," he repeated between the kisses he was placing on her neck and face. Clothes were quickly removed and before she knew it, he was moving inside of her as she tried to stifle her moans from the ears of the sleeping people who littered the living room as well as the new parents and their newborn daughter.

She wrapped her legs around his hips and clung tightly to him as he continued to thrust slowly into her. She forgot about the duchess and everyone else. They were the only two people on earth that mattered during that moment. He was hers for now, and she would hold onto him as long as she could. Regretfully, she knew it wouldn't be forever.

* * *

"What is going on?" she questioned, raising her head from his chest.

"I don't know," he replied.

They had been asleep three hours at most. They were the last in the household to fall asleep and apparently the last to wake up according to the commotion coming from the living room. They both got out of bed, quickly and haphazardly putting on clothes before going out into the living room.

She walked into the living room behind her and saw that her brother, sister, and cousins were clearly in a panic. She was trying to gather what was going on, but everyone was talking at once and she could not hear one person clearly. She stared dumbly at them until Emma noticed her and ran to her wrapping her arms around her. She returned the embrace as her little sister's tears showed she was clearly upset about something.

Everyone stopped and looked at her, after realizing they had entered. Greg too was wondering what was going on, but the look he received from James told him he did not want to know.

"What is going on?" Lisa asked with a trembling voice, clearly afraid of the answer.

No one replied right away, and she watched as tears streamed down Alice and Cecily's faces. Thomas was the first to speak.

"She's dead," he told her causing her mouth to fall open. Who was dead? She questioned in her head.

"Mother," he said as if reading her mind. "She is dead."

"Wha…what?" she asked as she too felt tears come to her eyes.

Her mother could not be dead. She was visiting a cousin. Surely if their mother was dead, someone would have told them. Everyone in their village knew who their mother was, clearly someone would have contacted one of them if she had died.

"I sent a message to cousin Florence's house a few days ago," Thomas began explaining. "I told her to come home quickly, as the baby would be born any day now. This morning I received a message back from cousin Florence, saying that she had not seen Mother in over a year. So," he continued, choking back tears, "I went over to her house and she was not there. I went to Mrs. Fernsby's and she said that mother had passed away weeks ago."

"How?" Annalisa yelled at them. "How could she have…," she couldn't bring herself to say it. "How could no one have told us?"

"That is what we are trying to figure out," Cecily said, as she gently stroked a crying Alice's back.

"Everything had been cleaned out," Thomas told them. "She had been burried. They said it was contagious. The house had been sanitized. No one has been living there since, it is empty."

Lisa took a seat in the chair next to the hallway as she felt herself getting a little lightheaded. The room was still quiet as everyone tried to make since of what they had just heard, trying to concoct their own theories of what had just happened.

It was absolutely mad, she thought. How could a person die and no one from their family be notified? Their home stripped bare and decontaminated to efficiency. How could something like this be accomplished without any one of them knowing about it?

Her brows furrowed at the thought. She looked over to Greg who was still standing at the entrance of the hallway. She saw him throw a side glance at James before he looked guiltily at her. He immediately diverted his eyes away from hers.

He wanted to tell her, he really did, but he wanted to do so in private. He wanted to tell her first what had happened, and then he would let the rest of her family know about the letter and her request. He would not have that chance though.

"You knew," he heard her say breaking the silence. He looked up at her and saw that she was looking at him, infuriated. "You knew my mother was dead and you did not tell me."

He looked at everyone else in the room, most of who were staring at him questioningly, waiting for him to reply.

He took a deep breath. "Let me explain," he tried. But she cut him off as she stood from the chair.

"What is there to explain?" she asked him. "You kept the fact that my mother was dead from me. What type of person would lie to someone about that?"

By now the rest of the room had started buzzing about his admission.

"She asked me not to tell you," he told her.

"She is dead," she yelled back at him, getting more in his face. Then something dawned on her. "Wait, you talked to her before she died?"

He wanted to defend himself. Technically, he had not talked to her, but he knew that was not the point Annalisa was trying to make. She was getting at the fact that he had known her mother was dying before she actually passed away. The fact that he had robbed her, perhaps, of the remaining few days she would ever have had with her mother.

"I," he started but was quieted by a firm hand to the face, causing some in the room to gasp. It was a first for him, he had to admit.

"Get out," she said through clenched teeth. "And don't come back. We do not need your charity. We are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves." She had gathered that the reason why he had invited the two younger girls to stay at the palace was because of her mother's request.

"Lisa," she heard Emma in the background. She could tell the girl was afraid and was warning her against putting them all in a position that they were not prepared to make it through. It was clear that the reason that they had been so well taken care of the past couple of months was because of the prince, and whatever promise he had made to their mother before her death. But Lisa, was now telling him that she was declining his offer to keep that promise.

Lisa continued. "I, neither any of my family, will be stepping foot inside of that palace again. Thank you, your majesty, but this family no longer needs you."

With that, she went into the bedroom slamming the door behind her. He looked down at the floor for a while before raising his head and nodding to the men he had arrived with the night before. They all began gathering their things and heading towards the door. James, however, only walked them to the door, telling him that he would stay behind with his fiance and would return to the palace later, hopefully with Lisa and the rest of the girls.

After saying goodbye to his friend, he, Radley, and Alex mounted their horses and headed back to the palace to prepare for the ball. He had guests to entertain tonight, one who had come to see him in particular.

* * *

**A/N: Well that's the end...SIKE!. This is definitely not the end, we are just getting into the thick of things. Again...PLEASE REVIEW and let me know what you guys think. The longer the review the better! I like long reviews :)**


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